The Top of the South is a large geographical area encompassing the Tasman, Nelson and Marlborough regions. Picton provides the gateway to the South Island for Cook Strait ferry services with State Highway 1 providing the main north to south transport spine along the length of the South Island and State Highway 6 providing the east to west connection across the Top of the South.
Inter-regional connectivity across Tasman, Nelson and Marlborough and to the rest of the South Island is critically important. The region’s economies are dependent on each other and have a strong reliance on the road network. Forestry, horticulture and viticulture industries rely on a having a resilient transport network.
The focus of 2015-18 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) investment in the Top of the South is on maintaining efficiency of key freight routes, addressing route resilience challenges, investing in cycling and helping to fund the costs of maintenance, operations and renewals.
Tourism is also a major growth industry in the area, with many cycle networks for recreation and tourism, wineries, two national parks and the Marlborough Sounds attracting visitors. Access to all these destinations requires a resilient and reliable transport network.
All three Road Controlling Authorities and the NZ Transport Agency worked together to develop the three 2015-21 Regional Land Transport Plans for Top of the South.
The outcome of this joint effort is anticipated to be a land transport system that better enables economic growth, accessibility and resilience for all three regions.
There are four ports in the Top of the South: Port Nelson, Nelson Airport, Blenheim Airport and Port Marlborough. Approximately 10 million tonnes of freight moves around the Top of the South per year, with 86% remaining in the region. Every year 2.7 million tonnes of freight is moved via Port Nelson.
The freight demand in the Top of the South is forecast to increase by 68% from 2012 to 2042, with the greatest growth between now and 2027. Over 90% of freight travels by road as there is no rail link across Nelson and Tasman.
Planned improvements to State Highway 1 Weld Pass, State Highway 6 Rai Saddle and State Highway 6 Quarantine Road roundabout are expected to deliver journey time savings, create a more resilient route and improve safety on the Highway.
Further investment is planned to enable the expansion of 50Max and High Productivity Motor Vehicle (HPMV) routes, allowing higher volumes of freight to be carried on fewer vehicles.
Given the pressure to achieve value for money from maintenance activity funding, any maintenance cost savings identified by a council will benefit all stakeholders. Savings can be redirected to councils where the condition of the network warrants an increase in maintenance investment and there is strong evidence to support the increase.
Tasman District Council has realised savings in its maintenance spend through improved asset management practices and revised levels of service. Marlborough District Council’s asset management practices have enabled it to clearly demonstrate the need for additional maintenance investment.
The Nelson public transport network is very successful and passenger numbers are expected to increase by 23% over the next three years. The Transport Agency and Nelson City Council are forecast to invest $3.8million during the 2015-18 NLTP period. It is forecast that 476,000 passenger trips will be made in Nelson each year over the next three years and 40,000 in Marlborough.
Tasman has recognised the need to improve public transport provision. The NBus initiative, which has been developed in collaboration with Nelson City Council, now connects Nelson to Richmond and operates on a 15 minute timetable.
In Marlborough a small, fit-for-purpose, shopper bus service operates in Blenheim. Marlborough District Council and the Transport Agency plan to invest $1.1m over the next three years, which is forecast to lead to a 50% increase in passenger numbers over the same period.
Across New Zealand around $3.2 billion is expected to be invested in the transport network over the next three years to deliver improved safety outcomes. Most of this expenditure will be directed at infrastructure improvements through the capital works programme, often where safety is one of the outcomes, along with congestion relief and travel time improvements. A proportion of this investment targets specific safety improvements, including high-risk intersections, pedestrian and cycling safety initiatives, speed management and education programmes. The Top of the South has a number of projects targeting the safety of a range of road users.
Working with the NZ Police and investing together in road policing is at the heart of the region’s investment. Together through targeted programmes the Transport Agency and NZ Police will work to address the factors contributing to crash-related deaths and serious injuries. These factors include speed, drink and drug driving, not wearing restraints, dangerous and careless driving, and high-risk drivers.
Investment in Nelson’s transport network is targeted at supporting the economic strength of the area, where horticulture, viticulture, forestry, seafood, farming and tourism are driving economic growth.
Efforts to make Nelson a cycle-friendly city have resulted in Nelson having the highest percentage of people cycling to work in New Zealand (18%, 2013 census), a reflection of both ongoing commitment to investing in the cycle network and a bike-friendly climate. The provision of good quality, well-located cycling facilities has also resulted in over 60% of students at Broadgreen Intermediate School in Stoke regularly cycling to school.
While a significant cycle network already exists in Nelson, the proposed focus over the next three years will be on the Nelson Coastal Route, which will provide a popular and useful link between Nelson City, along the state highway corridor, to Tahunanui and the airport. Development of this route will be supported with cycle education and promotion.
Most of the planned cycleways include high-quality shared paths that will also benefit pedestrians.
The route and detail of the Coastal Route will be informed by wider network planning in Nelson. Depending on the outcomes of this work, it is expected that the total cycling and walking investment in Nelson in the 2015-18 NLTP period will be $12m. This includes $3m of Urban Cycleways funding.
As part of the Government’s Accelerated Regional State Highway Package the Transport Agency is investigating the Southern Link alternative to Rocks Road.
Tasman District Council will be investing around $76m over the next three years on its transport network.
The Council has invested wisely in its operations and maintenance programme in previous years through the use of careful asset management. The One Network Road Classification System will add additional clarity to future asset management.
Marlborough is now the largest wine growing region in the country. This creates a specific freight task to get the product to both New Zealand and overseas markets and contributes to growing regional GDP.
The Government’s Accelerated Regional State Highway Package includes investigating a project in Marlborough for the replacement of the Opawa and Wairau bridges to enable better access for HPMVs on State Highway 1.
Further investment is planned to enable 50Max and HPMV access to forestry plantations in the Northbank and Waihopai areas.
In Marlborough the key north to south journey on State Highway 1 connects with State Highway 6 in Blenheim and to State Highway 62 at Spring Creek, where there is a key road and rail freight hub. State Highways 6 and 62 are vital tourism and freight routes providing access to Nelson, Tasman and the West Coast.
A roundabout is proposed to improve safety at the junction of State Highway 1 and State Highway 62 at Spring Creek as this intersection is listed in the top 100 high-risk intersections across the country.
With assistance from Bike Walk Marlborough and the Transport Agency’s Marlborough Roads initiative, Marlborough District Council is developing a safe, convenient and integrated network for walking and cycling to encourage more people to choose these active and healthy ways to move around. The programme proposes to link residential areas with schools, the CBD, workplaces, wineries and other key destinations.
The Urban Cycleways Fund is expected to contribute to the Spring Creek, Taylor River Reserve and Eltham/Beaver Road Cycle Link projects.
It is expected that the total will be about $1m investment in cycling and walking in Blenheim in the 2015–18 NLTP period. This includes $710,000 from the Urban Cycleways Fund.
