Wakefield Street Wastewater Rising Main – Stage 2
On behalf of Wellington City Council, we are constructing a new wastewater rising main along Wakefield Street that links the existing Kent Terrace rising main and the new Taranaki Street rising main.
If you have any questions about this work, please contact:
Wellington Water, 04 912 4400
Current Update
Stage 2 works are scheduled to start 21 January 2025 and take around 7 months to complete.
This last stage of this project involves installing approximately 270m of pipe on Wakefield Street between Tory Street and Kent Terrace and approximately 50m of pipe on Chaffers Street between Wakefield Street and Pump Station 4, located at the Chaffers St entrance to the New World car park.
Work will start with the section between Tory Street and Chaffers Street. Due to the location of the new pipe, this section of Wakefield Street will be reduced to one lane. On-street parking will also be removed from this section of the street. However, access to garages, parking buildings and retail premises will be maintained throughout.
Following this initial section work will then move to the next section between Chaffers Street and Kent Terrace.
Background
Wellington Water is building a new wastewater rising main – that’s a pressurised pipe that pumps wastewater into the main network - along Wakefield Street. It will link into the existing Kent Terrace rising main and into the new Taranaki Street rising main.
This is part of the major Wellington CBD wastewater renewals programme that has been underway since 2021 and involves six projects. It will provide a more resilient network, protecting the environment, catering for future growth and supporting more flexible, efficient and safe maintenance and repairs.
Benefits:
The new rising main will provide additional storage and redundancy to the network, allowing an alternative route for pumping flows during planned or unplanned maintenance of the Kent Terrace rising main.
This will significantly increase capacity and resilience of the network, minimising the risk of pipe failures while also improving network redundancy and supporting CBD growth and development.
Stages:
The Wakefield St rising main project is being done in two stages. Stage 1 has been completed with the renewal of the section of Wakefield Street between the intersection with Tory Street and the BP Petrol Station on the corner of Wakefield and Taranaki Streets.
Stage 2 will commence late 2024 and includes installing approximately 270m of pipe on Wakefield Street between Tory Street and Kent Terrace and approximately 50m of pipe on Chaffers Street between Wakefield Street and Pump Station 4, located at the Chaffers St entrance to the New World car park.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
What are we doing?
Wellington Water is building a new wastewater rising main – that’s a pressurised pipe that pumps wastewater into the main network - along Wakefield Street. It will link into the existing Kent Terrace rising main and into the new Taranaki Street rising main.
This is part of the major Wellington CBD wastewater renewals programme that has been underway since 2021 and involves six projects. It will provide a more resilient network, protecting the environment, catering for future growth and supporting more flexible, efficient and safe maintenance and repairs.
Why are we doing this?
The new Wakefield Street rising main will provide additional capacity for the network, allowing for an alternative route for pumping wastewater flows during planned or emergency maintenance of the Kent Terrace rising main.
What's involved?
The Wakefield Street rising main project is being done in two stages. Stage 1 has already been completed, with renewal of the section of Wakefield Street between the intersection with Tory Street and the BP Petrol Station on the corner of Wakefield and Taranaki Streets.
Stage 2, underway from 21 January 2025, includes installing approximately 270m of pipe on Wakefield Street between Tory Street and Kent Terrace and approximately 50m of pipe on Chaffers Street between Wakefield Street and Pump Station 4, located at the Chaffers St entrance to the New World car park.
How long will it take?
Stage 2 works are scheduled to start 21 January 2025 and take around 7 months to complete. It will be done in two sections – firstly between Tory Street and Chaffers Street, and then Chaffers Street to Kent Terrace – each will take three to four months to complete.
Is this work linked to the Golden Mile project?
No, this project is about increasing the capacity and resilience of the CBD wastewater network. However, the traffic management for the first stage of the Golden Mile project and this project are being coordinated to try to minimise the impact on traffic.
How will it affect traffic?
In the initial section between Tory Street and Chaffers Street, Wakefield Street will be reduced to one lane. Traffic management will be in place.
On-street parking will also be removed from this section of the street. However, access to garages, parking buildings and retail premises will be maintained throughout. This section is expected take around six weeks to complete.
This means that during peak periods, there will be some build-up of traffic on Wakefield Street, Oriental Parade and Cable Street. We would encourage people to plan for extra time in your trips and take alternative routes where possible.
How will it affect pedestrians?
Safe pedestrian access will be maintained throughout.
Will it affect bus routes?
For the period that Chaffers Street is closed, buses will be detoured to travel along Tory Street.