According to this article on the Kapiti Independent News site :-

“After three years of construction, traffic will flow along the Mackays to Peka Peka Expressway, three months ahead of schedule.

“My impeccable source is of a workman at the Wharemauku Bridge. NZTA vehicles have been driving up and down the down the road today making final checks and doing some fine-tuning.”

It’s been long enough in the making and most Kapiti people will be glad all the construction traffic and resulting inconvenience, dirt, mud and dust are at an end.

Heavy long distance trucks won’t be thundering through the centre of Waikanae anymore, and while a lot of pasture and vegetation have been replaced with 900,000 square metres of tarmac, the planners have taken the trouble to minimize the net environmental impact with new plantings, wetlands and of course the cycleways.  Most big truck engines are more fuel efficient than they used to be and emissions levels are also down.  A smooth level road with (theoretically) no stops will help that, too.