Three Billboards Outside Ashburton, Canterbury call for 4-lane highway

Monday, 24 December 2018

One of three billboards north of Ashburton that are part of a National Party campaign it says highlights cuts to critical roading upgrades.

Has the National Party been watching the film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri?

The party has placed three billboards outside Ashburton, Canterbury taking aim at Labour for scrapping National's idea to four-lane that section of State Highway 1.

It is part of a billboard campaign across the country, capitalising on busy roads over the holiday period to highlight what National says are cuts to critical roading upgrades. Labour called it 'cynical politics', citing its plan to spend $1.4 billion on road improvements.

The second of the three billboards highlighting National's idea to make the highway between Ashburton and Christchurch four lanes.

Rangitata MP Andrew Falloon said when National was in power, it was committed to making the entire stretch of State Highway 1 between Ashburton and Christchurch four lanes, but changes made by the Government to the NZ Transport Agency's (NZTA) state highway budget diverted more than $5 billion towards Auckland rail and cycleway projects.

* $1.4 billion safety upgrades for roads in 'desperate need' of repair**

The final billboard. Labour called the campaign 'cynical politics' saying National's pre-election promise was never budgeted for.

*** Four-lane plan for 'choked' Christchurch-Ashburton highway

* MP's petition to upgrade 'dangerous' Christchurch to Ashburton highway

* Petition to four-lane SH1 politically motivated

Could the film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, starring Frances McDormand, be the inspiration behind National's campaign?

* Median barriers proposed for dangerous stretch of road south of Christchurch**

Falloon said the Government knew about the highway's record of deaths and serious injuries.

In the latest incident, Aalix Sandra Roake, 71, and Richard John Roake, 63, died when their vehicle crossed the centre line and collided with a truck near Rolleston on December 12.

Last month, Dutch tourist Jan Michel Veneman, 45 died after his car was shunted into the path of a oncoming truck at the intersection of SH1 and Foremans Rd.

Traffic backed up after a crash on State Highway 1 on the Rakaia River Bridge in December 2017. National hopes people stuck in holiday gridlock will read their billboards this summer.

Stage two of the Christchurch Southern Motorway will create four lanes of highway between Christchurch and Rolleston, but the current two lanes will remain for the following 63km to Ashburton. The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) is considering safety improvements including safety barriers down the middle of the road, rumble strips and intersection improvements.

'With their funding cut, NZTA have come up with a cut-price option – a median barrier down the existing narrow road. Unfortunately for many road users it will make the road more dangerous,' Falloon said.

Government duty minister David Clark says the billboard campaign is cynical politics at its worst.

Rangitata MP Andrew Falloon says the road between Ashburton and Christchurch is one of the most dangerous in the country.

'It will also cut off access to side roads for emergency vehicles. They'll be forced to travel further to a turning bay before doubling back. For ambulances, that will add critical minutes before they can attend to patients.'

Other billboards part of National's campaign have been put up in Bay of Plenty, on SH1 between Otaki and Levin, and near Wellsford and Te Hana in Northland. Others will go up in the next few weeks between Belfast and Pegasus, north of Christchurch, and between Rolleston and Rakaia, south of the city.

The Government's duty minister, David Clark, said the timing of the billboard campaign was disappointing.

'This is cynical politics at its worst at a time of year that people should be coming together,' Clark said.

Safety was the Government's number one transport priority, he said, and it had rebalanced transport investment so all roads could be made safer, 'instead of a handful of gold-plated expressways'.

Clark said National's proposed expressways were a $12b promise on the eve of the last election that were never budgeted for or funded.

It would typically cost at least $1.4b to build one of the proposed 25-kilometre four-lane expressways. The Government was making safety upgrades and improvements to 870km of roads for the same amount of money, Clark said.

NZTA released a draft plan at the end of October on proposals designed to improve safety on SH1 between the Selwyn River and Ashburton. It then held three community events designed to share the information and get public feedback.

Possible changes include safety barriers down the middle of the road to stop head-on crashes, rumble strips to give drivers a wake-up call, and intersection improvements.

NZTA is using that feedback to look at its options and consider changes. The preferred options will be finalised and made public next year, before NZTA applies for funding for construction.

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