Dunedin Regional Office
Media Release

30 June 2004

Road safety focus of 10-year SH Plan

Transit New Zealand will spend at least $222 million on improving and maintaining the state highway network in Southland in the coming 10 years, revealed Transit’s 10-Year State Highway Plan 2004/05-2013/14, released today.

“Some of the projects outlined in the plan may be built faster and others added with additional funding we anticipate from a share of the regional distribution funding resulting from the Government’s December 2003 funding package, ‘Investing in Growth’ raised through an increase in petrol tax,” Transit regional manager Mike O’Cain said.

A total of $17 million will be spent in 2004/05, with improving safety the key focus.

“Safety improvements on SH6 at the Lorneville Roundabout, the River Road Realignment on SH93 and the Greenpoint Side Protection project on SH1 are all planned for construction in 2004/05.

“Other safety projects planned for construction in the next three years include the East Road Curve Realignment on SH1 north of Invercargill, the SH98 Mill Road Intersection Improvements east of Lorneville and the Hamilton Creek Bridge Widening on SH94,” he said.

Mr O’Cain said the plan also included the design and construction of two more stock effluent disposal facilities west of Gore on SH1 and at Lumsden on SH6.

He identified an on-going need for active management of SH94 to Milford Sound to provide an appropriate level of avalanche protection and traffic management. He said Transit was
continuing to look at replacing the eastern portal of the Homer Tunnel, which was damaged some years ago and which Mr O’Cain says might need to be replaced and extended.

“This tunnel provides the only road access to the key tourist destination of Milford sound.”

Consultation played an important role in the development of the plan within the context of the new Land Transport Mangement Act (passed in November 2003), Mr O’Cain said. All large project proposals have been reviewed to ensure integrated solutions that fitted with Southland’s local authority plans and that the benefits of the plans were sustainable.

Mr O’Cain said Transit’s proposed maintenance activities over the next 10 years included:

• to undertake some 90 kilometres of resurfacing and 15 kilometres of road rehabilitation per year on state highways in Southland
• continue to deploy the latest hazard management systems at the Homer Tunnel on SH94
• continue the strategy of managing wet-road crashes through maintaining high-skid-resistance surfacings.

For further information go to: www.transit.govt.nz
Detailed maps and timing of projects are listed by region.

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