About sixty years-ago the Knights Point/Epitaph Slip of section SH6 opened. It provided south Westland communities with an economic and social lifeline and created a long-awaited tourism route to Central Otago and Queenstown. At the time, the challenging geology in this area were known, however the prohibitive costs, difficult terrain, and proximity to the Alpine Fault, ruled out an alternative inland route.
In 2012 a landslide occurred below the road. This area of instability has been steadily increasing resulting in the Epitaph slip being identified as a critical risk to the state highway network. An Investment Case to develop resilience improvement options for SH6 from Haast (Knights Point) to Hāwea was completed in mid-2025 and has now progressed to detailed design. This considered shorter term stability enhancements at Epitaph, alongside other resilience improvements along the corridor, while a longer-term solution for this very complex site was developed through its own investment case.
A heavy rainstorm on 9 November 2024 triggered a major rockfall and slumping of the road resulted in a 13-day closure of SH6 at Epitaph. This event highlighted the risk at Epitaph and bought to the fore the need to find a long-term solution to address the vulnerability of the state highway at this location.
Emergency work started in November 2024 to repair the damage was recently completed. This included using explosives and blasting to reduce and remove unstable pieces of rock above the road. The construction of a retaining wall to provide ongoing stability for the outside shoulder of the highway was finished in July ($1.7 million).
An Investment Case to identify a potential long-term solution at Epitaph has now been completed and has recently been endorsed by the NZTA Board. Funding of $7 million has been approved to complete the detailed design work and secure the necessary statutory approvals.
The recommended approach to strengthen this section of State Highway 6 is to realign the road inland away from the cliff edge, remove unstable material from above the road and benching the rockface to improve stability. To construct the benches and remove the unstable materials a haul road will need to be built to enable access for disposal purposes.
Completing this work now will ensure that it’s ready for funding consideration for construction in the next National Land Transport Plan (2027-30). The estimated cost for construction is $102 million.
View SH6 Epitaph Slip site location map [PDF, 182 KB]
The SH60 Tākaka Hill corridor extends for 30km along SH60 from Riwaka to Upper Tākaka. The road provides the only access for coastal community’s northwest of Tākaka Hill. Tākaka Hill Road is a vital lifeline for the community providing access for local businesses, stakeholders, and tourists in the Golden Bay area. There are no alternative routes for this corridor.
Vehicles travelling the route are a mix of large trucks, campervans, caravans, rental vehicles and private cars. With over 800m of elevation gain across 30km, road conditions are particularly difficult with several hairpin bends restricting visibility and route efficiency.
Dropouts, scour and landslips are the main natural hazard being considered as part of this project. The likelihood of these hazards occurring may increase due to climate change, resulting in increased levels of disruption.
The business case recommended a $10.83M programme for the following improvements:
SH60 Riwaka to Upper Tākaka: Resilience improvement focus areas [PDF, 725 KB]
State highway 6 provides access between the West Coast and Nelson and is an alternative route between Christchurch and Picton. This is a vital inland route for Nelson/Tasman and West Coast communities and an important freight connection.
We are improving resilience between SH6 Hope Saddle and SH65 Higgins Bluff to provide reliable and safe journeys.
We have now completed the investigation phase which identified a programme of $12M of resilience improvements in the next three years to address rockfall, land slips and under slips at the following sites:
Funding has been approved from the National Land Transport Fund to continue the project into detailed design and consenting which will carry through into 2025 and will get the projects construction ready.
The SH6 Frankton to Kingston corridor stretches more than 40km, following the shoreline of Lake Whakatipu and skirting the iconic mountain ranges of Kawarau, The Remarkables and Tapuae-o-Uenuku Hector Mountains. It’s a critical part of our transport network, used by more than 2,700 vehicles a day. It’s important to the local and regional community, including residents, commuters, local businesses, freight, and tourism operators.
This section of highway is exposed to different natural hazards including rockfalls, landslips, flooding, and lakeside erosion. These hazards could increase in frequency and/or severity with changes in weather patterns so by being proactive now, we can plan how to build resilience into our infrastructure, to reduce the amount of emergency work needed on our roads and get them up and running faster after an event.
Our technical investigations and stakeholder engagement is now complete, and we have developed a $9.2M programme of works to improve the resilience of the corridor. The programme includes:
Resilience measures at the two southernmost sites on the corridor, adjacent to Glen Nevis Station and Shoreline Point, will be delivered through alternative NZTA funding sources so have been split off from this project.
SH6 Frankton to Kingston focus area hazards [PDF, 6.6 MB]
SH94 is the only road to one of New Zealand’s most famous and well visited tourist attractions – Milford Sound Piopiotahi. It’s a vital link for visitors experiencing Milford Sound and for businesses and residents who need to travel between Milford and Te Anau.
There are many scenic stops along the route which is used by buses, vans, rental, and private vehicles. The vulnerability of this corridor to flooding, avalanches, rockfall and land slips means the likelihood and consequences of closures along SH94 is far greater than most other state highways. It’s important that this corridor remains accessible for those who depend on it if a major event happens. Rockfalls and landslips are common on SH94, particularly during winter, and the ability to reopen the road following an incident is often impacted by weather and the remoteness of the corridor.
We have now completed the investigation phase which identified a programme of $22.4M of resilience improvements in the next three years to address rockfall, land slips and under slips at the following sites:
State Highway 6 (SH6) from Cromwell to Frankton is part of a wider regional land transport network between Central Otago, Queenstown, and the central South Island.
Used by up to 6,000 vehicles per day, SH6 connects visitors with numerous tourism attractions and businesses across the region. It’s important for freight and the transport of people and goods, and communities rely on it to access employment, services, social and recreational opportunities.
The 41km stretch of SH6 between Cromwell and Arrow Junction is susceptible to natural hazards including rockfall, landslides or weather-related events. When unplanned closures happen, there are limited detours - and those available add significant travel time and distance. Unplanned closures may become more common, due to climate changes, resulting in increased levels of disruption.
We have now completed the investigation.
SH6 Cromwell to Frankton focus area hazards [PDF, 1.3 MB]
The 155km section of State Highway 6 (SH6) from north of Haast (Knights Point) to Hāwea follows the West Coast and along the Haast River. Along the way it traverses through iconic mountain ranges and scenic areas of high conservation value, including Mount Aspiring National Park.
As well as connecting communities between Haast, Hāwea, Makarora, Wānaka and Queenstown, this is the only corridor linking Wānaka/Queenstown to the southern section of the West Coast, and is vital for local tourism operators, and transportation of people and goods.
This section of highway is exposed to several different natural hazards including rockfalls, landslips, debris flows and river erosion. These hazards could increase in frequency and/or severity with changes in weather patterns so by being proactive now, we can plan how to build resilience into our infrastructure to reduce the amount of emergency work needed on our roads and get them up and running faster after an event.
We have now completed the investigation phase which identified a programme of $25.6M of resilience improvements including:
Epitaph Installation of Active Warning Signage to address road user safety risk associated with 15km advisory curve and to improve preparedness for events, noting the remote location of the site and challenges to issue warnings related to hazards or closures.
