Lambton Quay closure for critical maintenance a success

To kick off the new year, Wellington City Council coordinated a closure of Lambton Quay and its side streets to carry out critical maintenance in one go – carrying out all the maintenance work for the area in 2025 in three days and four nights.

Work being done on Lambton Quay with people wearing high vis.

From 7pm Sunday 5 January until 7am Thursday 9 January, contractors from Downers, OneNZ, Fulton Hogan, Wellington Water and Council staff worked day and night to complete a large list of works. This included:

Fixing leaks and water maintenance
Street light repairs
Utility reinstatements
Underground investigation
Tree trimming
Resurfacing, repainting of road markings
Road and street furniture maintenance
Street cleaning
Graffiti removal

These dates were chosen to cause as little disruption as possible for businesses in the area, with pedestrian and retail data showing that this is traditionally the quietest period of the year. Pedestrians still had access to Lambton Quay and side streets during this time.

Arborists working in trees on Lambton Quay. — Arborists worked over three days to trim the trees that run down the middle of Lambton Quay. Trimming the trees keeps them healthy and ensures stray branches don’t obstruct the roads – particularly for double decker buses.

Transport and Infrastructure Manager Brad Singh says that this is the first time the Council has done a short and sharp closure for critical works.

“Auckland Council and Christchurch City Council have previously rolled out similar works projects in the past with some success, so we figured we’d give it a crack here in Pōneke. The idea is that we work night and day for a few days, taking advantage of this quieter period to carry out works while most Wellingtonians are enjoying their summer break.”

Road with sealed potholes. — A lack of cars along Lambton Quay made it easy for contractors to dig up the road without having to worry about impacting traffic.

“We aimed to get all our planned Lambton Quay construction for 2025 completed within this short period, minimising disruption and cost under one combined traffic management plan.”

Wellington City Council Network Manager Sean Woodcock says the team had a big list to tick off.

“We’ve been fixing the pipes, repairing streetlights, resurfacing and repainting the roads, trimming the trees, removing graffiti, maintaining street furniture, reinstating utilities and investigating underground assets, while giving the streets a general tidy up.”

Road being sealed at nighttime with machinery operating. — Road sealing was completed during a night shift.

By the final morning, Lambton Quay was re-opened with an impressive 98 percent of planned works completed, says Wellington City Council Corridor Manager Amanda Wolfaardt.

“It was an incredibly busy few days on Lambton Quay with numerous work activities happening simultaneously. Throughout the project, Council officers were present, and everyone on site was friendly, accommodating, and willing to lend a hand. People moved vehicles to allow other contractors to pass their work sites. It was wonderful to see everyone going the extra mile and working together.

“There were only a few minor works we couldn’t complete mainly due to the wet weather – but these haven't prevented us from achieving our goal of a refreshed Lambton Quay to kick off 2025.”