This Road of National Significance project will create an efficient and reliable motorway connection between Belfast and Pegasus, while supporting economic growth and reducing community severance through Woodend.
SH1 from Belfast to Pegasus is the key freight route to the north of Christchurch, and provides critical access to Christchurch City, the primary service centre for the South Island, with Christchurch International Airport, Lyttelton Port and major health, education, commercial and industrial services.
Woodend, Pegasus and Ravenswood are experiencing significant growth, far above what was anticipated when the project was designated in 2015. This growth has led to high traffic volumes sooner than expected and this is leading to delays and safety concerns for people and children crossing between developments at the Pegasus roundabout.
The SH1 Belfast to Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass includes a 10km extension on SH1 north of Christchurch from the SH1/SH71 Lineside Road interchange to just north of the Pegasus roundabout. It includes a 6km bypass of Woodend.
This project has been prioritised for delivery as one of the Roads of National Significance.
Design for an early works portion of the project will be completed in mid-2025 with the main works design expected to be completed in early 2026.
Roads of National Significance
In November 2024, the NZTA Board approved funding towards design and early works for the project.
We want to start construction as soon as possible, so we’re splitting the project up and designing a less complicated portion of the project first. This means we can have this early works portion designed and consented in around 12 months with construction able to start early in 2026. We will share images of the design as we make progress.
The project is expected to take around four years to complete. Below is an indicative timeframe of key milestones:
Providing a motorway extension and an alternative corridor bypassing Woodend will improve resilience to this nationally significant corridor and significant traffic relief for the community. It will support economic growth and improve local connections for Woodend, Pegasus and Ravenswood.
Key features of the project include:
As stated in the Government Policy Statement on land transport (GPS 2024), there is an expectation for NZTA to consider tolling to support the construction and maintenance of all new roads, including this project.
We will share more details as we make progress.
CloseThe Government announced in July 2024 that the SH1 Belfast to Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass project (B2P) had been prioritised for delivery as one of the first Roads of National Significance (RoNS). The B2P project will make a difference to traffic numbers and the sort of traffic moving through Woodend.
In line with the Government’s transport priorities, our focus now is on delivering safe roading infrastructure via the Roads of National Significance and Roads of Regional Significance, providing enhanced maintenance and highway resilience as well as increased support for Police enforcement.
The combination of refocussing safety investment and prioritising an alternative route to the existing state highway corridor means the plans for SH1 safety upgrades from Saltwater Creek to Cam River will no longer progress to construction. This includes plans south of the Pegasus roundabout to the Cam River.
While we’re working on the design of the new motorway, safety upgrade plans for the area north of Pegasus to Saltwater Creek will be rescoped with the B2P project in mind. Any work on the existing highway, north of the Pegasus roundabout, will likely happen between Saltwater Creek and Tulls Road. This will be very minor in scope and will not include flexible median safety barrier.
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