Transmission Gully: Helicopter footage shows first morning on the motorway

Flyover footage shows the first cars to drive across Transmission Gully this morning, as the $1.25 billion motorway officially opened to traffic today.

It was a foggy morning in the capital as commuters made their way across Transmission Gully – more than 100 years after the road was first proposed.

Drivers in high spirits tooted their horns as a steady flow of traffic moved southbound on the motorway.

Flyover footage shows cars making their way down the motorway on the first morning it opened. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Earlier, a police car became stuck in deep loose gravel off the shoulder of the new road, in what police said was an arrester bed designed to stop runaway vehicles.

A police spokesperson confirmed to the Herald that the new safety feature of the road is "very effective" and said "driver error" was to blame for the vehicle getting stuck.

Police also confirmed that "a small number" of tickets have been issued since the road opened just before 3am today.

The road opened just before 3am this morning. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Despite the tickets, police were "overall pleased" with how commuters have behaved on the motorway, but urged people to be careful in their excitement of the new road.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency transport services general manager Brett Gliddon had earlier urged motorists to avoid the temptation of trying to be the first to enjoy it.

Yesterday, police said their radio network had two blackspots over a combined 1.2km of the new road.

Police are currently building a new radio site for all emergency services at Wainui Saddle to fill the gaps, but the new site won't be operational until next year.

Transmission Gully officially opened to traffic today. Photo / Mark Mitchell

An opening ceremony was held yesterday at the northern entrance to the road where Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern cut a ribbon to mark the occasion.

Ardern said it was no secret that a road connecting Wellington to the lower North Island through Transmission Gully has been talked about for many decades.

She said it was first mentioned in the Evening Post newspaper in 1919.

Drivers in high spirits tooted their horns as a steady flow of traffic moved southbound on the motorway. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Admitting it was not without its challenges, Ardern said Transmission Gully is "a testament to what can be achieved in spite of a rough start and in spite of a one-in-100-year pandemic."

Transmission Gully has been built through a public-private partnership (PPP), the Wellington Gateway Partnership (WGP), with CPB Contractors and HEB Construction subcontracted to carry out the design and construction.

The 27km motorway is opening two years later than it was originally expected to.

The road had first been proposed more than 100 years ago. Photo / Mark Mitchell