This Week's Summary

Daltons Bridge is currently closed to heavy vehicles over 3500kg due to recent flooding and a diversion is in place via Te Hoiere Road.

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

The road closures on Queen Charlotte Drive between the Picton Lookout and Shakespeare Bay, for Port Marlborough to carry out logging operations and the removal of wilding pines and wattles will be finished tomorrow, Friday 19 April.  

Multiple work sites on Queen Charlotte Drive between the new mechanically stabilised earth (MSE) wall site near Cullen Point and Governors 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 new railway iron wall site, 450m before Moenui Road, when travelling towards Picton is scheduled to commence next week.
• The installation of two railway iron walls approximately 1.9km and 2.1km past Tepuia Heights, when travelling towards Picton.
• Drainage upgrades and repair of a drop-out, 750m past The Grove Jetty when travelling towards Picton.
• The construction of a retaining wall 450m past Aussie Bay when travelling towards Picton.
• Road realignment and slip repairs at Governors Bay. 

Works at the above locations are under stop/go traffic management.

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

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

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.

Keep reading for information on:

• Kenepuru Road Restrictions
• Other Road Restrictions
• Resident Definition
• French Pass
• Kenepuru Road
• Moetapu Bay Road 
• Northbank
• Pelorus
• Port Underwood Road 
• Queen Charlotte Drive

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, Portage and along Mahau Road.

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 Closures

Queen Charlotte Drive

Road closures on Queen Charlotte Drive, between the Picton Lookout and Shakespeare Bay, from 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday with openings on the hour, every hour to clear waiting traffic, will be completed on Friday 19 April. 

Other 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

Winter maintenance works in the French Pass area are now complete. Last week crews carried out sealing work at various sites on Croisilles Road and Croisilles-French Pass Road.

Work on the new boat ramp in French Pass township is now planned for late June 2024. This will allow crews to work in with tide times. More information will be shared in this update once the dates are confirmed.

Kenepuru

Works on Kenepuru Road, to install an anchored retaining wall just prior to Portage near the Torea Road intersection, have started this week. This first stage of works will involve vegetation removal in preparation for foundations. These works will be carried out under priority giveway.

Culvert upgrades and water channel clearance work has started on Akerbloms Road. This work will continue next week under stop/go traffic management and is weather dependent.

Grading is being undertaken in the Kenepuru area over the next month. The crew are currently working in the Titirangi area. These works are weather dependent. 

Surfacing works on Kenepuru Road, is planned in the coming weeks, once the crew have completed these works on Moetapu Bay Road. 

Moetapu Bay Road

Pavement construction and water table improvement work started this week at various locations on Moetapu Bay Road.

Once these works are complete the crew will move to Kenepuru Road.

This work is being carried out under stop/go traffic management.

Northbank

Rock revetment work was carried out last week, approximately 7km up Onamalutu Road from the Northbank Road turnoff.

Sealing work has been carried out this week. This site is now complete other than some brush planting, which is scheduled to take place in July. 

Rock revetment works on Onamalutu Road 

Pelorus

Daltons Bridge is currently closed to heavy vehicles over 3500kg due to recent flooding. A diversion is in place via Te Hoiere Road.

Drainage improvement works and the construction of gabion baskets are scheduled to start late next week on Maungatapu Road, 7km from the Pelorus Bridge turnoff. 

These works will be carried out under stop/go traffic management.

Port Underwood Road

Construction of a retaining wall and installation of a culvert has begun on Port Underwood Road. 

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

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

This work is expected to take approximately two months to complete. 

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 and associated drainage upgrades on Queen Charlotte Drive (approximately 1.7km from the SH6/Havelock turnoff) near Cullen Point, Mahakipawa Hill.

This week crews have finished rock work at the bottom of the slope. This week and next crews will continue building the MSE wall from the base upwards. 

Work to install a new culvert and repair the road continues, just prior to Moenui Road when travelling from Havelock. Last week work to install the wing walls on the outlet and reshape the ground upstream was undertaken. This week, crews will continue to build the culvert inlet upstream. 

A new railway iron wall site, 450m before Moenui Road, when travelling towards Picton is scheduled to begin next week. 

The construction of two railway iron walls, approximately 1.9km and 2.1km past Tepuia Heights, on Queen Charlotte Drive when travelling towards Picton, is close to completion. Sealing and the installation of site rails has been carried out this week. Users of the Link Pathway will continue to be guided through these sites by traffic management.

Work is being undertaken 750m past The Grove Jetty, when travelling towards Picton to complete drainage upgrades and repair a dropout. Last week a new culvert was replaced, this week road preparation and sealing has been undertaken. The site is scheduled to be completed by the end of the week. 

Work continues 450m past Aussie Bay. There are two new retaining walls within this site. Last week, the kerb was poured and water channels cleared at the first wall. This week crews carried out road preparations. At the second retaining wall site, the old wall was removed last week and anchor drilling began this week. 

Work to realign the road and repair a slip continues 70m past Governors Bay when travelling towards Picton. Last week crews laid mesh net down the slip face. Next week crews will work on a partial retreat requiring earthworks.  

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.

Surfacing preparation work near Aussie Bay 

Laying the mesh net down the rock face near Governors Bay 

Moenui culvert inlet wing walls have been installed 

More Information

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

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. 

Phone: 0800 213 213 or 03 520 8024, between 8.00am - 5.00pm, Monday to Friday.

Email: recovery@marlboroughroads.com