The NZ Transport Agency has released information from the first phase of its investigation into possible improvements to State Highway 1 Picton to Christchurch. The investigation focusses on the area between Picton in Marlborough and the Ashley River Bridge in Canterbury.
“State Highway 1 from Picton to the Ashley River Bridge, north of Christchurch, is a national strategic route. It provides a vital freight link between the North Island via Picton, onwards to the Lyttelton Port, Christchurch International Airport, and on to the rest of the South Island,” Raewyn Bleakley, Regional Director, NZ Transport Agency says.
“It is also a busy route for domestic and overseas tourists.”
The information released comes from the first phase in the Transport Agency’s planning and investment process. This phase, known as the strategic case, has identified a number of issues with the route. These include noting the consequences of growth in freight traffic and identifying that key sections of the route are vulnerable to natural events such as floods and earthquakes, as well as road closures due to crashes.
Successfully addressing the issues along the route could lead to improved predictability of travel times, reduce the economic impact of road closures and increase road user safety.
“We’ll now start the next phase in our planning and investment process, the programme business case. During this phase the community will have the opportunity to tell us what they think the priorities are for improvements along the route,” Ms Bleakley.
“When we are ready to invite feedback, details on how people can be involved will be available via the project’s web page as well as circulated among the local communities along the route.”
For more information, please see the project webpage.
