Four-lane plan for 'choked' Christchurch-Ashburton highway
Sunday, 20 August 2017
The 'choked' route between Christchurch and Ashburton could become a four-lane highway as part of a $10.5 billion Government investment.
Prime Minister Bill English announced 10 new Roads of National Significance on Sunday. The Christchurch-Ashburton connection and Christchurch's northern motorway were the only South Island routes included.
Under the plan, State Highway 1 would run for two lanes in each direction between Christchurch and Ashburton. Roads would be widened and oncoming traffic would be separated. On the northern motorway, four-laning would be extended as far north as Pegasus. No costs or timeframes were included in the plans, which would go ahead under a 're-elected National-led Government'.
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The Christchurch-Ashburton link is one of the busiest stretches of highway in the South Island and has become increasingly congested in recent years.
Several have lost their lives on the stretch of highway this year.
On May 4, tech executives Rena Ong, 29, and Zhihao Chen, 38, from Singapore, died when their Jucy rental van crossed the centre line and collided with a ute near Dunsandel.
On February 1, Robin Vivian Drummond, 63, from west Otago, died in a nose-to-tail crash between two trucks in Templeton.
'There's a lot more heavy traffic on that road, there's a lot more commuter traffic, there's a lot more tourists driving that road and [an upgrade is] absolutely critical,' Canterbury Employers' Chamber of Commerce chief executive Peter Townsend said.
'[It's] now choked and even though they've got passing lanes every few kilometres it's still a very choked up road, by South Island standards.'
Increasing traffic congestion on the route had become a 'constant frustration', he said.
'It obviously has an economic impact. The better we can make our infrastructure in the South Island, the more attractive we become to everyone . . . It opens it up right through to the lower half of the South Island.
'Over time you can see that Ashburton will just become an extension of Christchurch in terms of economic interdependency. Whatever we can do to improve that road that's great.'
'We're going to have really good connectivity between Christchurch and Rolleston with the new southern motorway,' Townsend said, 'so an extension of that through to Ashburton will do us a whole lot of good.'
The $900 million upgrade of Christchurch's motorways was one seven projects originally designated roads of national significance in 2009.
Automobile Association Canterbury-West Coast district council chairman Roy Hughes said the upgrade would be 'fantastic' for business efficiency and road safety in the region.
'Over the past five years we've noticed a big increase in traffic flows in both directions, especially since the establishment of the inland port freight transport hub at Rolleston.
'On most days there's a steady stream of trucks and cars travelling in both directions.'
Christchurch International Airport chief executive Malcolm Johns said infrastructure development was 'key to supporting any growing economy'.
'Christchurch Airport is the primary gateway to the South Island and the highways north, west and south are key to getting visitors out into, and spending money in, the regions,' Johns said.
ROADS OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE
The nine other roads included in the latest proposal are:
* Wellsford to Whangarei
* Auckland's East-West link
* Cambridge to Tirau
* Piarere to the foot of the Kaimai Range
* Tauranga to Katikati
* Manawatu Gorge
* Napier to Hastings
* Levin to Sanson