State highway 6 provides access between the West Coast and Nelson and is an alternative route between Christchurch and Picton. This is a vital inland route for Nelson/Tasman and West Coast communities and an important freight connection.
We are improving resilience between SH6 Hope Saddle and SH65 Higgins Bluff to provide reliable and safe journeys.
We have now completed the investigation phase which identified a programme of $9.6M of resilience improvements in the next three years to address rockfall, land slips and under slips at the following sites:
Funding has been approved from the National Land Transport Fund to continue the project into detailed design and consenting which will carry through into 2025 and will get the projects construction ready.
The SH6 Frankton to Kingston corridor stretches more than 40km, following the shoreline of Lake Whakatipu and skirting the iconic mountain ranges of Kawarau, The Remarkables and Tapuae-o-Uenuku Hector Mountains. It’s a critical part of our transport network, used by more than 2,700 vehicles a day. It’s important to the local and regional community, including residents, commuters, local businesses, freight, and tourism operators.
This section of highway is exposed to different natural hazards including rockfalls, landslips, flooding, and lakeside erosion. These hazards could increase in frequency and/or severity with changes in weather patterns so by being proactive now, we can plan how to build resilience into our infrastructure, to reduce the amount of emergency work needed on our roads and get them up and running faster after an event.
Following the completion of our technical investigations and stakeholder engagement, we’ve developed our recommended approach and are finalising the business case to submit for endorsement. This is a key step in securing funding that has been identified in the 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme for detailed design and construction.
We’ve also prioritised work that can be undertaken in the short term (over next three years) and has been budgeted for, while other work will be considered in the longer term.
SH6 Frankton to Kingston focus area hazards [PDF, 9 MB]
SH94 is the only road to one of New Zealand’s most famous and well visited tourist attractions – Milford Sound Piopiotahi. It’s a vital link for visitors experiencing Milford Sound and for businesses and residents who need to travel between Milford and Te Anau.
There are many scenic stops along the route which is used by buses, vans, rental, and private vehicles. The vulnerability of this corridor to flooding, avalanches, rockfall and land slips means the likelihood and consequences of closures along SH94 is far greater than most other state highways. It’s important that this corridor remains accessible for those who depend on it if a major event happens. Rockfalls and landslips are common on SH94, particularly during winter, and the ability to reopen the road following an incident is often impacted by weather and the remoteness of the corridor.
We’re investigating an 84km stretch of SH94 between Milford Sound and Te Anau Downs.
Our investigation will explore opportunities to reduce the impact natural hazards have on this road. As part of the investigations, we’re talking to targeted stakeholders to understand how they use the corridor, and the implications of closures for those who depend on it – local communities, businesses, and tourists. From this we’ve built a good understanding of this highway corridor and its risks. The project team are now developing resilience improvement options. More work is required in this phase of the business case, before NZTA confirms its direction and next steps for the corridor.
State Highway 6 (SH6) from Cromwell to Frankton is part of a wider regional land transport network between Central Otago, Queenstown, and the central South Island.
Used by up to 6,000 vehicles per day, SH6 connects visitors with numerous tourism attractions and businesses across the region. It’s important for freight and the transport of people and goods, and communities rely on it to access employment, services, social and recreational opportunities.
The 41km stretch of SH6 between Cromwell and Arrow Junction is susceptible to natural hazards including rockfall, landslides or weather-related events. When unplanned closures happen, there are limited detours - and those available add significant travel time and distance. The likelihood of these events may increase due to climate changes, resulting in increased levels of disruption.
We’re looking at how to reduce the impact of these hazards at up to 11 sites along the corridor including The Narrows, Roaring Meg, and Gentle Annie. Our assessment work is in addition to the ongoing work at Nevis Bluff and around Lake Hayes.
Through technical investigations and gaining input from partner, stakeholder, and community representatives, we’ll refine a range of options and make a recommendation about how this key highway’s resilience can be improved.
The 155km section of State Highway 6 (SH6) from north of Haast (Knights Point) to Hāwea follows the West Coast and along the Haast River. Along the way it traverses through iconic mountain ranges and scenic areas of high conservation value, including Mount Aspiring National Park.
As well as connecting communities between Haast, Hāwea, Makarora, Wānaka and Queenstown, this is the only corridor linking Wānaka/Queenstown to the southern section of the West Coast, and is vital for local tourism operators, and transportation of people and goods.
This section of highway is exposed to several different natural hazards including rockfalls, landslips, debris flows and river erosion. These hazards could increase in frequency and/or severity with changes in weather patterns so by being proactive now, we can plan how to build resilience into our infrastructure to reduce the amount of emergency work needed on our roads and get them up and running faster after an event.
We are gathering information about the resilience issues at 17 sites along this section of SH6, including Epitaph, Orman Falls, Muddy Creek and Daves Crook Dropout. We will do this using technical investigations and input from targeted stakeholders and use this information to refine a range of options and make a recommendation about how the resilience of this critical highway link can be improved.
