This Week's Summary

Kenepuru Road to the Heads, and its side roads remain restricted to residents, emergency and essential services.

Daltons Bridge, near Kaiuma Bay Road, is currently closed to heavy vehicles over 3500kg and a diversion is in place via Te Hoiere Road.

A bridge closure to all traffic at Daltons Bridge is planned to start on Monday 1 July for bridge abutment repairs. Please see the road closure section for more information. 

Multiple work sites on Queen Charlotte Drive between the mechanically stabilised earth (MSE) wall site near Cullen Point and Ngakuta Bay remain in place. Please factor more time into your travel plans and expect delays. Worksite locations include:

• The MSE wall near Cullen Point (approx 1.7km from SH6/Havelock turnoff).
• The installation of a new culvert near Moenui Road.
• A road retreat site, 180m past Tepuia Heights, when travelling towards Picton. 
• The construction of a retaining wall 450m past Aussie Bay when travelling towards Picton.
• The construction of a retaining wall, 1.3km prior to Ngakuta Bay when travelling towards Picton, is planned to start next week. 

Works at the above locations are under stop/go traffic management, please expect delays.

Work on the new boat ramp in French Pass township is planned to begin on 24 June 2024 and is scheduled to take approximately two weeks to complete.

Work to build a new retaining wall just prior to Portage near the Torea Road intersection, on Kenepuru Road continues.

The construction of a retaining wall and installation of a culvert on Port Underwood Road is underway. This work is approximately 4km from the Picton end of Port Underwood Road, near Whatamango Bay. 

Work to build a new bridge, upstream of the current temporary bailey bridge on Waihopai Valley Road is underway.

Please ensure you keep to the reduced temporary speed limits when travelling through worksites to ensure the safety of our crews and road users. We thank you for your patience.

When walking near or through our worksites, please keep animals on a leash. 

Keep reading for information on:

• Contact Information 
• Continuation of Local Recovery Transition Period
• Kenepuru Road Restrictions
• Road Closures
• Road Restrictions
• Resident Definition
• French Pass
• Kenepuru Road
• Northbank
• Pelorus
• Port Underwood Road 
• Queen Charlotte Drive
• Waihopai Valley

Contact Information

Phone: 0800 213 213 or 03 520 8024, between 8.30am - 4.30pm, Monday to Friday.

Email: recovery@marlboroughroads.com

If you require welfare support contact recovery@marlborough.govt.nz or phone Council on 03 520 7400.

For more information:

For local roading alerts/updates go to Marlborough District Council's website.

Sign up to the Antenno app to receive notifications on your phone.

Check the Civil Defence Emergency Management map for road access restrictions. 

Continuation of Local Recovery Transition Period

The Marlborough District Council has extended the local recovery transition period for the Marlborough Sounds Ward.

Although access has been restored the removal of the current restrictions are dependent on the assessment of a Road Safety Auditor after the programmed repairs at two critical sites; Torea Road intersection and what is commonly known as Water Tank Slip, just beyond Te Mahia Bay. 

Work at the Torea Road intersection are currently underway and are programmed to be completed by end of July 2024. Water Tank Slip is planned to be completed in time for the Christmas/New Year Holiday period 2024. 

As a result of the continued restrictions the Council's water and air transport subsidies will continue until these works are completed. 

Visit the Council's website for more information on these subsidies. 

Road Closure

Daltons Bridge, Pelorus

Daltons Bridge is currently closed to heavy vehicles over 3500kg. A detour is in place via Te Hoiere Road for all heavy traffic.

From Monday 1 July Dalton's Bridge is scheduled to be closed to all traffic to allow for bridge abutment repairs. These works are expected to take approximately six weeks.

Kenepuru Road Restrictions

Kenepuru Road to the Heads, and its side roads remain restricted to residents, emergency and essential services. 

These roads have severe storm damage and entry into this section of Kenepuru Road is at resident and emergency or essential service drivers' discretion. 

Extreme care should be exercised and daylight driving only is strongly recommended. 

Residents vehicles up to 12.6m in length, and 6 tonne in weight can travel on Kenepuru Road and the following side roads; Mahau Road, Torea Road and Moetapu Bay Road as far as Double Bay Reserve. 

This means residents can access boat launching areas at Double Bay Reserve, Torea and at Portage. 

On all other side roads, between Kenepuru Road to the Heads no vehicles over 8m in length or 3.5 tonne in weight are permitted. 

The Marlborough District Council's barge subsidy is available for resident's vehicles that are outside these dimensions.

The Council's water taxi subsidy is available for residents, workers and visitors to areas in the Marlborough Sounds that were previously accessible by road. 

For more information on the Council's transport subsidies visit their website. 

For a full list of what is deemed an emergency or essential service visit the Council's website.

The following restrictions apply on this section of Kenepuru Road and it's side roads including Moetapu Bay Road;

• No campervans, vans or buses.
• Only 4WD and light vehicles.
• On Kenepuru Road to the Heads, Torea Road, Mahau Road and Moetapu Bay Road to Double Bay Reserve, no vehicles over 12.6m in length or 6 tonne in weight. 

On all side roads off Kenepuru Road to the Heads, excluding Torea Road, Mahau Road and Moetapu Bay Road to Double Bay Reserve, no vehicles more than 8 metres in length or 3.5 tonne.

Residents only are permitted to walk and cycle on the restricted access section of Kenepuru Road and Moetapu Bay Road.

There are the following hazards on this section of Kenepuru Road and Moetapu Bay Road;

• Slips.
• Drop outs.
• Single lane in places.
• Increased hazard during rain.
• Uneven surfaces and gravel sections.

Road Restrictions

Queen Charlotte Drive between Linkwater and Picton is open to all vehicles less than 12.6m. Vehicles over 12.6m must obtain a permit to drive on this section of Queen Charlotte Drive. These permits can be obtained by emailing the Marlborough Roads NZTA office on MRoadsadmin@nzta.govt.nz.

Anakiwa Road is open to vehicles less than 12.6m. Beyond Tirimoana Jetty, only light vehicles weighing less than 3.5 tonnes are allowed, unless by prior arrangement.

French Pass and Tennyson Inlet are accessible, but drivers should be aware that the road is narrower than usual in some sections.

Please be aware that on all roads, including those with public access, there may be areas of works and traffic management in place. Please expect delays and follow all signage and traffic management.

Heavy rain may lead to roads needing to be closed urgently. No matter the status of the road, drive to the conditions.

To check the status of a road before you travel, please visit the Civil Defence Emergency Map.

Resident Definition

The definition of a resident, in terms of who is able to access roads restricted to resident and emergency services is; 

A permanent resident, owner of a holiday home/bach, or the owner of a commercial interest.

It does not include visitors who are hiring or renting a holiday home or bach, where rental arrangements have been made through either a property letting agency or directly with the owner. 

French Pass

The Kapowai Jetty, D'Urville Island crane was returned last week following its removal for maintenance. 

Investigative drilling work is planned from Wednesday 19 June to Friday 21 June on Croisilles Road, 1.3km from the intersection with Hope Drive, near Okiwi Bay. This work will be carried out under stop/go traffic management, please expect delays. 

Work on the new boat ramp in French Pass township is planned to begin on 24 June 2024 and is scheduled to take approximately two weeks to complete. Boat owners are advised to use the Okiwi Bay boat ramp over this period.

Kenepuru

Work on Kenepuru Road to install an anchored retaining wall just prior to Portage, near the Torea Road intersection, is underway. This week work has continued on the underslip repair. Construction work at this site will continue over the coming months.

Bund clearance is being undertaken on Kenepuru Road. This week crews have been working just prior to Portage. Next week they will move to work from Portage towards The Heads. 

Sealing work is planned to be completed next week between The Heads and Raetihi. The section between Linkwater and Portage is programmed for the week starting Monday 24 June, weather permitting.  

Pavement construction work will continue next week, from Portage through to the start of Kenepuru Road at Linkwater. 

All the above works are under stop/go traffic management operating between 7.30am to 5pm, with minor delays expected. 

Bund clearance on Kenepuru Road

Northbank

Brush wall planting was completed last week and line marking undertaken this week on Northbank Road, 1.5km past Fabions Valley Road. 

A culvert replacement was completed this week on Onamalutu Road, 7km from the Northbank Road turnoff. 

For your safety, and that of other road users please ensure you adhere to the traffic lights on Northbank Road, 17.5km from the start of the road. The lights are required due to unstable rock on the bluff and slopes at the site. The lights are positioned so that vehicles are stopped in low risk areas. We are regularly monitoring the lights to make sure they are operational. This is a complex site and our design and construction teams are working hard to find the most appropriate solution. Once the preferred option is selected, works will begin and the traffic lights will be removed. 

Brush wall planting along the riverbank on Northbank Road 

Pelorus

Daltons Bridge is currently closed to heavy vehicles over 3500kg. A detour is in place via Te Hoiere Road for all heavy traffic.

From Monday 1 July, Daltons Bridge will be closed to all traffic to allow for bridge abutment repairs. These works are expected to take approximately six weeks.

Road improvements, the installation of a new culvert and the construction of a ford was carried out last week on Maungatapu Road, 12.5km from the SH6 turnoff at Pelorus Bridge.

This week, the crew continued work along Maungatapu Road undertaking road and drainage improvements, gabion basket installation and culvert work between 13.1km and 14.2km from the SH6 turnoff. Work is scheduled to be completed at the end of this week.

A new culvert and ford installed on Maungatapu Road 

Port Underwood Road

Construction of a retaining wall and installation of a culvert is currently underway on Port Underwood Road. 

This work is approximately 4km from the Picton end of Port Underwood Road, near Whatamango Bay and is being completed under stop/go traffic management.

This work will be undertaken from Monday to Friday (with some Saturday work as required) between 7am and 7pm.

Last week work to install a culvert was carried out along with preparations for kerb installation. The kerb has been installed this week along with pavement construction. 

Next week sealing is planned and this site is expected to be completed later this month, weather permitting.  

Backfill completed over the new culvert on Port Underwood Road 

Queen Charlotte Drive

There are multiple recovery sites under construction along the length of Queen Charlotte Drive. Work at these sites is under stop/go traffic management, please expect delays. 

Crews have been working on the construction of a mechanically stabilised earth (MSE) wall from the base upwards on Queen Charlotte Drive (approximately 1.7km from the SH6/Havelock turnoff) near Cullen Point, Mahakipawa Hill. 

Work to install a new culvert and repair the road continues, just prior to Moenui Road when travelling from Havelock. Last week and this week preparation work was carried out on the upstream side of the MSE wall to install the ground beam.

A road retreat is nearing completion 180m past Tepuia Heights, on Queen Charlotte Drive, when travelling towards Picton. Last week sealing, the installation of timber sight rails and hydroseeding was carried out. This week crews have erected a boundary fence. 

Work continues 450m past Aussie Bay at the second retaining wall site. Preparation for timber lagging and drainage work was undertaken last week. This week whalers, timber lagging, drainage and anchoring has been completed at this site. 

The construction of a retaining wall, 1.3km prior to Ngakuta Bay when travelling towards Picton, is planned to start next week. 

Work to realign the road and repair a slip is nearing completion 70m past Governors Bay when travelling towards Picton. Crews installed the sight rail this week. 

Please note there will be increased truck movements while work is being carried out. Please plan ahead for delays.

Please keep to the reduced temporary speed limits when you're travelling through our worksites to ensure the safety of crews and road users. We thank you for your patience.

The MSE wall near Cullen Point continues to be built from the base upwards

Sealing and the installation of sight rails at the road retreat near Tepuia Heights

Waihopai Valley

Last week, willows were cleared and access ways prepared for the most challenging piers of the bridge to be built.

The current bailey bridge will continue to operate as crews build the new bridge. Please expect increased activity around this area.