The Tinwald Corridor Project is moving to the next phase of looking at a range of options to improve access and safety along State Highway 1.
For the last year, the NZ Transport Agency has been working with the Ashburton District Council and a number of local organisations to identify all the issues along the corridor and to look at a programme of works to make improvements to access across the highway.
More than 22,000 vehicles travel each day along State Highway 1 through Tinwald, on the southern side of the Ashburton River, of which about 13 per cent are heavy vehicles. Growing traffic volumes and development in the area has resulted in access issues for vehicles turning right onto and off the highway, as well as safety concerns for cyclists and pedestrians crossing SH1.
The Transport Agency’s Highway Manager Colin Knaggs says a briefing document will be presented to this week’s Ashburton District Council meeting, as joint project partners, to seek agreement on spending the next six months identifying a range of possible options and developing a business case for funding.
“This work will involve the collection of additional data collection on all travel options, such as cycling and walking, as well as a further series of workshops for various organisations and the community to have input into a programme of work.”
Once a programme of work has been agreed, design work will need to be completed and funding secured, he says.
“The earliest any capital works would be undertaken would be as part of the 2015-18 National Land Transport Programme and these works would need to be prioritised on a national basis.”
