$250 million for road upgrades

Central Government announced today it has more than doubled the budget for Queenstown's SH6 upgrades - to an eye-watering $250 million.

Transport Minister Simeon Brown was in Frankton this afternoon to turn the first sod as the four-year Queenstown New Zealand Upgrade Programme gets underway.

And he confirmed the Coalition Government has upped the budget for the project from its original $113m.

Brown says the original programme was not properly costed by the previous Labour Government.

"Ultimately, the Government is committed to this project," Brown says. "We want to see it delivered. We know the significant benefits around efficiency and productivity of this critical roading connection need to happen.

"And so we made the call to keep this project moving. We've put more money into it but we've made it very clear as well, we expect it delivered on time and within budget."

The project includes the remodelling of the BP roundabout, an upgrade of Frankton bus station, a new roundabout at the Lakes Hayes Estate turnoff on Ladies Mile, and various other improvements to SH6, including five sets of traffic lights.

The first 18 months will be work to improve underground services, including installing a 1.4m diameter stormwater pipe. All that work will be off the highway, so won't cause too much disruption to traffic NZTA officials say.

Contractors will begin felling trees on the golf course, opposite the bus interchange, on Monday morning.

The BP roundabout will be replaced with a traffic lights intersection, featuring new bus lanes and improved access for pedestrians and cyclists. Around 27,000 vehicles pass through the BP roundabout on an average day, and up to 44,000 on peak days, according to NZTA figures, while an estimated 15,000 per day use the bus hub.

The aim of the whole project is to improve traffic flow along SH6 and SH6A, between Frankton and Lake Hayes, and provide better road conditions for buses and active travel.

The works are being delivered via the Kā Huanui a Tāhuna alliance, which has been responsible for the overbudget Queenstown Town Centre Arterial Stage 1 project.

 

• We'll have a full report on the budget increase, a timetable of the work, and how NZTA Waka Kotahi intends to minimise disruption, in Tuesday's Lakes Weekly Bulletin