This Week's Summary

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

There are road closures planned on Queen Charlotte Drive between the Picton Lookout and Shakespeare Bay from 8 to 19 April. Please see the road closure section for more information. 

Multiple work sites on Queen Charlotte Drive between the new MSE wall site near Cullen Point through to Governors Bay remain in place. Please factor more time into your travel plans and expect delays. Worksite locations include:

• MSE wall near Cullen Point (approx 1.7km from SH6/Havelock turnoff).
• The installation of a new culvert near Moenui Road.
• 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.

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:

• Road Closures
• Kenepuru Road Restrictions
• Other Road Restrictions
• Resident Definition
• Awatere Valley 
• French Pass
• Kenepuru Road
• Northbank
• Port Underwood Road 
• Queen Charlotte Drive
• Waihopai Valley Road 

Road Closures

Queen Charlotte Drive 

From 8 to 19 April, road closures are planned on Queen Charlotte Drive between the Picton Lookout and Shakespeare Bay at the following days/times:

• Monday to Friday
• 7am to 9am up to 10 minute delays
• 9am to 3pm openings on the hour, every hour to clear waiting traffic. 

Please be aware that it can take some time to clear the queues, so you may not travel through the site exactly on the hour. 

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.

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 have commenced in the French Pass area this week with crews working on stabilisation patches on Croisilles Road and Croisilles-French Pass Road. 

Works 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 Road

Work to build a new retaining wall just prior to Portage near the Torea Road intersection, on Kenepuru Road has been rescheduled due to illness and is now planned to start next week.

Late next week works are planned on Akerbloms Road, for culvert upgrades and water channel clearance, the start date of these works are dependent on weather. 

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

Northbank

Last week culvert repair work has been undertaken on Northbank Road, 150m prior to Pine Valley Road when travelling from SH6. This week chipsealing has been undertaken. Work at this location is close to completion.

Rock revetment work continues, approximately 7km up Onamalutu Road from the Northbank Road turnoff. Work will continue at this location next week under stop/go traffic management. 

Culvert replacement on Northbank Road

Rock revetment work on Onamalutu Road 

Port Underwood Road

The construction of a retaining wall and installation of a culvert is scheduled to begin on Port Underwood Road in the week starting 15 April. 

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.

Queen Charlotte Drive

From 8 to 19 April on weekdays, road closures are planned on Queen Charlotte Drive between the Picton Lookout and Shakespeare Bay from 9am to 3pm, with openings on the hour every hour. There will be delays of up to 10 minutes between 7am to 9am at this location. These closures are for Port Marlborough to undertake logging operations and the removal of wilding pines and wattles.

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

Crews have been working on the construction of a MSE (Mechanically Stabilised Earth) 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 started excavating slip material below the wall and started building the drainage base of the new wall.  

Work to install a new culvert and repair the road continues, just prior to Moenui Road when travelling from Havelock. Last week two further sections of the culvert were installed. This week work will continue to install the remaining sections of the culvert upstream.

The construction of two railway iron walls is being carried out approximately 1.9km and 2.1km past Tepuia Heights, on Queen Charlotte Drive when travelling towards Picton. Last week, the section closer to Tepuia Heights was chip sealed. This week timber lagging and drainage has been undertaken at the second site. Users of the Link Pathway will 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. Backfilling and drainage work has been completed. 

Work continues at a new retaining wall site, 450m past Aussie Bay. Last week crews installed a new sight rail. This week crews will excavate and clear vegetation around an existing wall, next to where the new retaining wall has been constructed.  

Work to realign the road and repair a slip continues 70m past Governors Bay when travelling towards Picton. Last week, and this week, crews drilled anchors on the slope below and laid mesh in preparation to shotcrete the slope of the slip next week. 

A third railway iron site, 450m before Moenui Road, when travelling towards Picton is scheduled to start, once work is completed on the two railway iron walls near Tepuia Heights. 

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.

A portion of the new box culvert being installed near Moenui Road 

Filling the dropout near Grove Jetty 

Railway iron wall near Tepuia Heights

Waihopai Valley Road

Maintenance work was carried out this week on the ramp onto the bailey bridge on Waihopai Valley Road, 30km from the SH63 turnoff.

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