Ōtākou/Murihiku – Otago/Southland 2022 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 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, $636 million is being invested in road maintenance and renewals in Otago and Southland.

Dunedin

Connecting Dunedin, a transport partnership involving the Dunedin City Council (DCC), Otago Regional Council (ORC) and Waka Kotahi have begun delivering a work programme to meet the city’s future transport needs, especially in the CBD 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.

In the last 12 months

Dunedin

• Confirmation by the Connecting Dunedin Transport Partnership of their work programme to meet the city’s future transport needs.
• Continued construction of the $42.5 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.
• Roll out of the Otago Regional Council’s real-time tracking mobile phone app showing bus locations and expected arrival times.
• The completion of the $15 million project to replace Dunedin’s street lighting with LEDs. This lighting increases safety and significantly reduces energy use and ongoing maintenance costs.
• The opening of the $22 million 4km Company Bay to Broad Bay shared walking and cycling path, an important link on the Otago Peninsula Connection.

Otago

• Good progress was made on building a single-lane roundabout to improve safety at the high-risk SH6/SH8B Intersection in Cromwell, one of several highway projects funded by New Zealand Upgrade Programme regional package. There have been 23 crashes at the intersection in the last 10 years.
• Work started on the new $28 million two-lane Beaumont Bridge on SH8 over the Clutha River to replace a 138-year-old single-lane bridge. This new bridge will provide a more resilient highway link on the main road freight route between Dunedin and Central Otago.
• Major rock placement work costing $4 million was completed at Katiki Beach between Palmerston and Ōamaru to  provide greater protection against coastal erosion on SH1.
• Completion of the new $3.4 million single-lane Hinahina Bridge across the Catlins River in South Otago is providing greater safety and resilience on an important local road connection. It was a jointly funded project with Clutha District Council.
• Detailed design work was finished for safety improvements on a 14km section SH1 between Herbert and Hampden, in North Otago.
• Consents were lodged and design work started to lift the highway one-metre to lower the flood risk on a vulnerable 200-metre section of SH1 through the Kakanui River floodplain. This $2m project is funded from the NZ Upgrade Programme.

Underway or about to start

Dunedin

• 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, improving accessibility in the central city and accelerating the development of Dunedin’s cycle network.
• Design work for the last stages of the Dunedin’s Peninsula Connection project, a 25km shared walking and cycling path between Dunedin and the Otago Harbour entrance. Several seawalls are being built to protect the main road between Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula from climate change-related sea level rises.
• Completion in early 2023 of the $42.5 million SH88 Dunedin to Port Chalmers safety improvements project, which includes the final 5km section of the SH88 shared cycling/walking path between St Leonards and Port Chalmers.
• Further investment is planned to build on public transport patronage growth in Dunedin. Likely initiatives include more bus services from the south of the city and investigation of a park and ride facility.
• The opening of the Inner Harbour Links cycle path which will make it easier and safer for people to cycle between the Dunedin CBD and upper Otago Harbour.
• Detailed design of a joint Connecting Dunedin partners Albany Street Connection. This will improve access for people riding bikes and walking to Dunedin’s tertiary area and CBD. Construction of this two-way cycleway is planned to begin in November 2022.

Otago

• On-going work on the new $28 million two-lane Beaumont Bridge on SH8 over the Clutha River to provide a more resilient highway link on the main road freight routes between Dunedin and Central Otago – scheduled for opening in late 2023.
• Construction is expected to begin soon on the $2 million project to lower the flood risk on a vulnerable 200-metre section of SH1 through the Kakanui River floodplain by lifting the highway a metre above its current height.
• Complete detailed design work for safety improvements on a 26km section SH1 between Hampden and Palmerston in North Otago.
• Opening in December 2022 of the $8 million single-lane roundabout to improve safety at the SH6/SH8B Intersection in Cromwell funded by New Zealand Upgrade Programme regional package.

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.

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 also widened to provide greater safety for cyclists and pedestrians.
• We entered an alliance with Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) - Kā Huanui a Tahūna - to deliver a number of cornerstone projects in Wakatipu including NZ Upgrade Programme and active travel projects.
• Design and planning for the NZ Upgrade Programme is underway. The programme will deliver a range of public transport and walking and cycling improvements on SH6 and SH6A.
• Queenstown 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.

Underway or about to start

• As part of the Road to Zero Safe infrastructure Programme (SIP), we’re proposing safety improvements to the State Highway 6 /State Highway 84 intersection, at Wanaka. This project comprises a 40m-diameter, single-lane roundabout.   With significant growth in traffic in this area, along with increased safety risks at the intersection, this crucial safety project to help reduce serious crashes.
• Detailed design for completing Queenstown Lakes District Council’s active travel routes and more detailed design work on the Shotover to Frankton and Jack’s Point to Frankton routes. A new cycle connection is also planned at Nevis Bluff to secure the Great Ride link between Cromwell and Queenstown.
• Work on a detailed business case for making improvements to Queenstown’s public transport services, including the quality of service, public transport infrastructure, asset ownership, system management and labour supply and funding. For Queenstown, buses will increasingly become an essential part of the transport picture and so to achieve these goals it is critical that buses can move efficiently and reliably on 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

• Work started on a $3 million of safety improvements inside the Homer Tunnel that will see even 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 $25m safety upgrade of the 1.2km Homer Tunnel.
• Opening a new $5m roundabout opened at the busy SH1/Elles Road intersection, south of Invercargill was completed.
• A 16km, off-highway shared walking and cycling path from Bluff to Awarua, was opened. This was a $1 million co-funded project involving the Invercargill City Council and Environment Southland. It provides a safe alternative to SH1 for cycling between Invercargill and Bluff. It also forms the final section of the 3,000km Te Araroa trail connecting Cape Reinga to Bluff.
• A new public transport timetable was introduced in Invercargill to reduce bus wait times and improve the frequency of services and connections to other services.
• Work was completed on the $9 million flood repair project on the Milford Road caused by a massive storm in 2020 that saw numerous large retaining walls destroyed by floodwaters.

Underway or about to start

• Applications have been lodged for concessions and consents for $22 million in safety improvements on the eastern side of the Homer Tunnel, including a new rock fall shelter and plant and equipment room.
• $3m of safety improvements inside the Homer Tunnel.
• Design work is underway on a new intersection to improve safety at the SH93-SH1 intersection in Mataura.

Funding overview

Overview map

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