Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Local Govt | National News Video | Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Search

 

Milford Road, SH94, Update On Progress And The Way Ahead

Good progress building a four-wheel drive, single lane route into Milford Sound Piopiotahi has been made in the past few days of sunshine, says Graeme Hall, System Manager, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.

“A huge amount of construction work is needed to restore State Highway 94, the Milford Road, to a two-lane, sealed highway. The Transport Agency’s aim in coming days is to reopen the route as a construction road in the first instance so that urgently needed services, tradespeople, and contractors can get into Milford Sound Piopiotahi.”

Mr Hall noted that essential services at this early stage would not include tourism traffic, buses, camper vans or any private or independent travellers. Other parts of Fiordland are open for tourism and some operators are flying people into Milford Sound Piopiotahi.

“Emergency Management Southland has extended the State of Emergency for Southland, including Fiordland, until next Tuesday. We will continue to construct an essential services-only route as we have been doing and in full consultation and agreement with Emergency Management Southland, get the essential-services road open once it is safe to do so. This is likely to be via convoys with strict supervision given the rockfall risk and need to keep on repairing key sections of the highway.”

Mr Hall noted that another smaller storm is forecast in a week’s time (possibly 17 February), so any work to firstly open and then keep that temporary route open, even to supervised convoys, will be heavily dependent on the weather.

Longer term access for tourists

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

The second stage of work on the Milford Road involves the close co-operation and collaboration with the tourism operators and Department of Conservation to see how road connections to the Sound can be re-established while also allowing the extensive repairs between the East Gate (near the Hollyford turnoff) and the Chasm to be completed over winter and spring.

“This is likely to involve convoys of vehicles at specific times of the day however, the detail is still to be refined with the tourism operators at this stage. We hope to provide more detail on this in coming days.

“We thank everyone for their patience while this essential work is underway. We are doing our best to provide a safe route for all road users and restore this important link to Milford.”

Plan ahead for a safe, enjoyable journey. Keep up to date with:

· Traffic updates: nzta.govt.nz/traffic

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines


Gordon Campbell: On The US Opposition To Mortgage Interest Deductibility For Landlords


Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don't think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of political capital by giving landlords a huge $2.9 billion tax break via interest deductibility, while still preaching the need for austerity to the disabled, and to everyone else...
More


 
 

Government: Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity... More

ALSO:


Government: GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan

Declining GDP for the December quarter reinforces the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says... More

ALSO:


Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.