Maintaining safe, reliable road and rail freight connections is essential for the recovery of the West Coast after the region’s main economic driver, tourism, was severely impacted by COVID-19.
Tourism was the region’s fastest growing economic sector. However, global travel restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected the local economy.
While the region serves the domestic travel market and begins to welcome back international visitors, it is reliant on having good access to employment, education, training opportunities and essential services.
We’re continuing to work with local government and our industry partners to identify regional recovery opportunities where transport-related investment will provide economic benefits.
Investment in the region during the 2021–24 NLTP is being targeted at maintaining critical connections with the remainder of the South Island, improving preparedness in responding to extreme weather events, maintaining access to existing tourist locations and improving safety across the road and rail network.
The West Coast’s dispersed settlement, relative isolation to neighbouring regions, vulnerability to adverse weather events, and mountainous coastal terrain present significant challenges in maintaining access along the length of State Highway 6 (SH6) which forms a critical lifeline link between the region’s communities. The highway is prone to closures from slips, rock falls, flooding and crashes.
A large proportion of our $142 million investment on the West Coast during this current NLTP period will be spent on maintaining and operating the state highway and local road networks. This includes maintaining road condition, drainage and structures, and specific river and slope protection works.
It includes resurfacing 150 kilometres of local roads and 220 kilometres of state highways, placing 80,000 cubic metres of metal on unsealed roads and renewing 7,500 metres of drains.
Significant investment is also planned for the two special purpose roads (Karamea and Jackson Bay Road) which will include bridge and culvert renewals and resurfacing work, and repairing damage from a rain event in February 2022.
There is an ongoing programme of work to improve freight connections on the West Coast which will enable larger trucks to access the region’s primary produce and get goods to market. It also helps to improve safety. This programme includes upgrading and replacing some of the region’s single-lane bridges, of which there are about 50 on the state highway network.
The West Coast roading network is particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change. The natural geographical constraints mean alternative routes are often not available and detours are long.
We are continuing to develop a Transport Resilience Framework to:
During this NLTP, we will continue to implement the framework by investigating the best use of resilience investment along SH7 Lewis Pass and SH73 Arthur’s Pass to strengthen alternative links to Canterbury and the freight hubs at Christchurch International Airport, Lyttelton Port and MidlandPort, at Rolleston.
SH6, connecting to Nelson in the north and Otago in the south, is prone to flooding and slips, particularly south of Hokitika where there is a limited network of local roads to provide reliable detour routes. During this three-year period, we’ll look to improve our emergency response plans and investigate the most effective ways to provide real-time information for customers. The recent installation of a new fibre optic line from Fox Glacier township to Hawea will play an important role in these projects.
At Punakaiki, 4kms of new shared cycling and walking path along SH6, linking the community and local cycle trails with the new Dolomite Point Experience Centre, recognises the importance of the visitor economy to the West Coast.
At Franz Josef, we’re continuing to work with our partners to maintain access to the glacier and the town. A major flood in March 2019 caused significant damage to the glacier access road and destroyed the SH6 Waiho Bridge. In the long-term there are ongoing risks and uncertainties relating to the future of the glacier, an increased flood risk with the Waiho/Waiau River, the rising riverbed caused by sediment pattern changes and the town’s close proximity to the Alpine Faultline. We’re working to investigate the most sustainable way to provide access that aligns with the Franz Josef Future Plan.
On SH6, SH7 and SH69, we plan to invest in the design, and start construction on a number of safety improvements, including new signage and road markings, wider centrelines and installing safety barriers at high-risk locations along 60kms of the corridor.
A winding and challenging section of SH7 from Reefton to Maruia Springs, including Blacks Point, has been prioritised for a speed review.
| NLTP | Investment in 2021/22 | Forecast investment for 2021-24 |
| Total | $62 million | $202 million |
| Maintenance and operations | $55 million | $171 million |
| Public transport investment | $0.2 million | $0.6 million |
| Walking and cycling | $16,000 | $2.8 million |
| Road to Zero (safety) | $0.8 million | $5.7 million |
| Network improvements | $2.9 million | $13 million |
