SH75 Halswell Road improvements project progressing

Kia ora,

This update is to let you know what the team has been working on since we were last in contact, how the project is progressing and our next steps.

We received a lot of great feedback last year. This feedback, combined with further technical information and traffic modelling, has helped us to refine the design to meet some of the concerns raised by people in your community. 

The changes (outlined below) mean that:
• It will be safer for people cycling, particularly school students, along Halswell Road
• There will be more opportunities for residents and other people using the road to access properties and side streets
• Some on-street parking will be available during off peak times.

Changes to the design include:

Raised median

In our last newsletter we let you know there was a recommendation to extend the raised median along the full length of the project area - from Dunbars Road to Curletts Road. This means access to properties and side roads would be left in and left out only. This has now been included in the project.

We are making this change because it will make accessing local properties safer, both now and in the future. We know that residential growth and new developments will increase traffic numbers on Halswell Road, and this will make finding a gap in the traffic to turn right from adjoining properties and streets increasingly challenging, and this will increase the risk of right turning crashes.

We appreciate that this will require some people to use alternative approaches to access properties and make some journeys slightly longer. New right turns at signalised intersections and new U-turn facilities will make this easier.

Speed

A number of people raised the issue of speed along Halswell Road in their feedback last year. While speed is outside the scope of this project, this section of highway was included in the SH73/SH75 Christchurch to Akaroa, SH74 Lyttelton speed review. The outcome of the review has just been announced. Read more here.

Project timeline and next steps

The project has passed an important milestone - the business case (concept design) has been signed off. The project can now move to the next stage - detailed design, where we’ll continue to refine the design ahead of construction.

We’ll also continue to work closely with Christchurch City Council which is planning to install bus lanes along Lincoln Road, between Whiteleigh Avenue and Curletts Road.

You can learn more about this project on their website.

And, we’ll continue to review and finalise our bus lane operating hours when the Council makes a decision, expected later this year, on their bus lane operating hours.

These two projects will make taking the bus a more reliable and easy transport choice for people in the south-west suburbs travelling to town or wanting to make local trips.

Construction

At this stage, our aim is to start construction in 2024 and continue through to 2026. However, as the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, there may be some disruption to the project programme, for example there may be difficulty with the supply of some of the required materials.

Thank you for your patience and we'll be back in contact as we have more news to share.

Ngā mihi,

The Halswell Road Project Team

More information

For more information on the SH75 Halswell Road improvements project, contact us at Halswell.Road@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/sh75-halswell-road