Ōtākou/Murihiku – Otago/Southland 2023 update

A safe, well-connected, and resilient land transport system that gets goods to market and supports post COVID-19 economic growth in Otago and Southland is a major investment focus of the 2021-24 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP).

Achieving greater value for money is a priority, along with creating a safe system that reduces harm to both people and the environment.

In Otago, this NLTP continues to focus on the investment being made on developing a safer and more resilient land transport system that supports regional growth and provides appropriate levels of service.

Prioritised investments in Dunedin and Queenstown target improved access to public transport, walking and cycling, and take better account of the place and movement functions of urban streets.

In Southland, the emphasis remains on improving the safety and resilience of our network to help drive economic growth, maintain key road connections, and ensure the right levels of service for everyone who uses our transport system.

Together with our partners we’re working to ensure the regions’ roads are safer, more resilient, and well-maintained to provide the access that communities rely on, and that are critical to the farming, forestry and tourism sectors that underpin both the Otago and Southland economies.

During the 2021-24 NLTP period, $702 million is being invested in road maintenance and operations in Otago and Southland.

Otago

Completed in the last 12 months

• A single-lane roundabout to improve safety at the busy SH6/SH8B Intersection in Cromwell opened in early 2023 and is one of several highway projects funded by the NZ Upgrade Programme (NZUP) regional package. There have been 23 crashes at this intersection in the last 10 years.

Underway or about to start

• A new $25 million two-lane Beaumont Bridge on SH8 over the Clutha River will open at the end of 2023 and replaces the single-lane bridge built in 1887. This new bridge will provide a more resilient highway link on the main highway between Dunedin and Central Otago.

Dunedin

Connecting Dunedin, a transport partnership involving the Dunedin City Council (DCC), Otago Regional Council (ORC) and Waka Kotahi, is delivering a work programme to meet the city’s future transport needs, especially in the central business district where work has started on the new Dunedin Hospital.

This programme is focused on a range of cycling, safety and public transport initiatives, and travel demand management improvements that contribute to a safe, sustainable transport network connecting people, places and products.

Underway or about to start

• Continued construction of the $50 million SH88 Dunedin to Port Chalmers improvements project, building the final 5km section of the SH88 shared cycling/walking path between St Leonards and Port Chalmers. The path will open in the third quarter of 2023.
• Continued planning and delivery of Connecting Dunedin Transport partner programmes, covering a range of cycling and pedestrian improvements, safety and public transport initiatives. These include upgrading the Harbour Arterial, SH1 and SH88 St Andrew Street to improve accessibility in the central city and accommodate the new Dunedin Hospital.
• Design work for the last stages of the Dunedin Peninsula Connection, a 25km shared walking and cycling path between Dunedin and the Otago Harbour entrance. Several seawalls have been built to protect the main road between Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula from climate change-related sea level rises.
• Further investment is planned to build on public transport patronage growth in Dunedin. Initiatives include more bus services from the south of the city and investigation of a park and ride facility.
• Detailed design of a joint Connecting Dunedin partners Albany Street Connection. This will improve access for people biking and walking to Dunedin’s tertiary area and CBD. Construction of this two-way cycleway is planned to begin in late 2023.

Queenstown

Waka Kotahi is taking a multi-agency approach to managing transport opportunities and growth challenges in Queenstown Lakes District, reflecting the area’s rapid expansion not only as a tourist hotspot but as a growing sub-region.

Completed in the last 12 months

• A $6.4 million seal extension was completed to improve safety on Ballantyne Road near Wanaka. The road shoulders on this busy local arterial road were widened to provide greater safety for cyclists and pedestrians.

Underway or about to start

• Design and planning for the Queenstown NZUP package continued. The programme, delivered via the Kā Huanui a Tāhuna Alliance with QLDC, will deliver a range of public transport and walking and cycling improvements on SH6 and SH6A.
• Work started in February 2023 on the Mt Iron roundabout at the SH6/SH84 intersection in Wanaka. This project comprises a 40m-diameter, single-lane roundabout, and is part of the Road to Zero Speed and Infrastructure Programme (SIP).
• The Whakatipu Active Travel Network is in the detailed design phase which will provide an integrated network of trails that connect to public transport.  It consists of a series of trails being delivered by both Waka Kotahi and Queenstown Lakes District Council.
• A new cycle connection is planned at Nevis Bluff to secure the Great Ride link between Cromwell and Queenstown.
• On-going planning for improvements to Queenstown’s public transport services. These include better services, public transport infrastructure, asset ownership, system management and labour supply and funding. For Queenstown, buses will be essential to achieve these goals. For this to happen, buses must be able to move freely on the roads.
• Queenstown’s economy will be supported through an on-going rock fall protection management programme at Nevis Bluff on SH6 between Queenstown and Cromwell to reduce the risk of closure of this highway which is a key freight, commuter and tourism corridor.

Southland

In the last 12 months

• $3 million in safety improvements inside the Homer Tunnel, are largely complete, along with a new plant room. This will result in better monitoring of tunnel incidents and traffic on the eastern side of the tunnel. This work forms part of a Crown Infrastructure Partners (CIP) funded $25 million safety upgrade of the 1.2km Homer Tunnel.

Underway or about to start

• Applications have been lodged for concessions and consents to build a new rock fall shelter at the eastern entrance to the Homer Tunnel.
• Design work continues for a new intersection to improve safety at the SH93/SH1 intersection in Mataura.

Funding overview

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