Marlborough Roads Recovery Update

27 February 2025

This Weeks Summary

Pending a final specialist inspection, today (Thursday 27 February) was the last day of planned construction closures at ‘water tank slip’. Work will continue to be carried out under stop/go traffic management with up to 10 minute delays at this site.

Drainage improvements and culvert installations on Moetapu Bay Road continue. On Monday 3 March a road closure will be in place from 10am to 1pm, with openings on the hour on Moetapu Bay Road at Elephant Point, for sealing work to be undertaken.

From mid-March, construction closures are planned at the following locations: Pukenui Road, Queen Charlotte Drive, Moetapu Bay Road and Kenepuru Road, approximately 5km past The Heads. Please see the road closure section for more information.

From Monday 3 March construction on Torea Barge Ramp will begin. Works will be carried out from Monday to Saturday between 6am and 8pm. Temporary pedestrian access to the jetty was installed this week. 

Tree felling is scheduled from 10 to 14 March on Kenepuru Road at Nopera. Please plan ahead for delays of up to 30 minutes. 

In the French Pass area construction continues on Tennyson Inlet Road. 

Rock revetment works at Dalton's Bridge are now complete and the road reinstated. 

Work on Queen Charlotte Drive continued this week at Momorangi to clear an overslip.

Drainage improvements on Pukenui Road are scheduled to begin from Monday 10 March under road closures. Please refer to the road closures section for more information. 

Bridge abutment protection works at Craiglochart Bridge, Waihopai Valley are now complete.

When travelling near or past our work sites, please ensure you keep outside any fences or barriers for your safety. Adhere to, and do not move any traffic or safety management in place (i.e. cones/signs/traffic lights).

Keep reading for information on:

• Road closures
• French Pass
• Kenepuru Road
• Kaituna
• Moetapu Bay
• Pelorus
• Queen Charlotte Drive
• Waihopai Valley

Road closures

Moetapu Bay Road - Elephant Point

On Monday 3 March a road closure will be in place from 10am to 1pm, with openings on the hour on Moetapu Bay Road at Elephant Point for sealing work to be undertaken.

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Pukenui Road - Queen Charlotte Drive

From Monday 10 March, Pukenui Road from the start of the road will be closed to all traffic from 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday.

The closure is planned for three weeks for drainage improvements and road reinstatement works, before our team moves onto Queen Charlotte Drive for the next stage of works.

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Night Time Closures - Queen Charlotte Drive 

On Tuesday 8 and Wednesday 9 April Queen Charlotte Drive will be closed above Pukenui Road, midway between Havelock and Linkwater from 6pm to 5am with openings on the hour, every hour. (Works are planned to finish at 5am on Thursday 10 April).

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Moetapu Bay Road - Drifwood Corner

From Wednesday 12  untill Monday 17 March, Moetapu Bay Road at Driftwood Corner will be closed to all traffic for a  culvert installation. The closures will be in place on weekdays from 9am to 12pm and 12.30pm to 3pm. 

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5km from Kenepuru Heads - Kenepuru Road 

From Wednesday 12 March to Friday 15 March daytime construction closures will be in place on Kenepuru Road, approximately 5km past Kenepuru Heads towards Waitaria Bay for drainage improvements and culvert installation. The closures will be in place from 8.30am to 12pm and 12.30pm to 5pm.

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To view the closure locations, please visit the CDEM map.

Outside of the closure days and times, works will be carried out under stop/go traffic management with up to 10 minute delays. If you have any concerns, please contact recovery@marlboroughroads.com.

The round sign with a red border, two arrows and GIVEWAY indicates that a priority giveway is in place on the road ahead. 

The large black arrow on the sign shows the direction of traffic that has right of way, and can proceed first if traffic is at both ends of the road.

When approaching a priority giveway, please slow down and check for vehicles that may already be driving on the road, before proceeding.

Important!
When coming up to a one-lane section of road with priority giveway, take note of the signs:

• A red circle shows you must give way.
• The arrows show the direction in which traffic is travelling on the road. 
• The large black arrow indicates which vehicle has priority.
• The smaller red arrow shows the vehicle that should give way.  

Current Kenepuru Road restrictions

Kenepuru Road is open to the public, with overweight and overlength vehicle restrictions in place. 

Reduced speed limit signage and temporary traffic lights are in place at Portage Heights, the 'water tank slip' site and approximately 500m beyond Nikau Cove (when travelling from Portage). All three sites have a 30km temporary speed limit in place. Please expect minor delays and follow all traffic management signage.

Vehicle restrictions remain on Kenepuru Road from Linkwater to the Heads as follows:

Vehicle Restrictions

Vehicles up to 12.6m in length, and 6 tonne in weight can travel on Kenepuru Road and side roads.

To apply for a permit for an over dimension vehicle to travel on Kenepuru Road, email recovery@marlboroughroads.com or call 0800 213 213. 

There are the following hazards on this section of Kenepuru Road and its side roads including Moetapu Bay Road:

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

Other recovery roads

Please be aware that on all roads, works may be in progess and/or traffic management in place. Please expect delays and follow all signage and traffic management.

Heavy rain may lead to roads being closed at short notice. Regardless of the status of the road, please drive to the conditions.

To check the status of a road before you travel, please visit the CDEM Map.

French Pass

Work on Tennyson Inlet was completed last week with the installation of a gabion basket and culvert, 5km before the Duncan Bay intersection. Sealing at this site was completed on Saturday 22 February. 

Sealing on Croisilles Road was completed this week following drainage improvements and other minor works.

Kaituna

Tree removal half way along Kaituna-Tuamarina Road was completed this week. Rock scaling at this site is scheduled for mid-March. 

Kenepuru Road

Construction at 'water tank slip' requiring planned road closures is complete. Sealing at this site was completed earlier this week, along with the installation of a culvert outlet and drainage improvements.

With construction at 'water tank slip' completed, the traffic lights at this site will be removed from Monday 3 March and new signage will be installed on this section of the road. This is one of several stretches of Kenepuru Road that will operate under priority giveway. Please refer to the priority giveway section of this newsletter for more information. 

Temporary traffic lights remain in place at Portage Heights and approximately 500m beyond Nikau Cove (when travelling from Portage). Both sites have a 30km temporary speed limit in place. Please expect minor delays and follow all traffic management signage.

Next week water table maintainance, culvert clearance and road regrading will be undertaken on Onahau Road for the last 250m of the road. Please expect minor delays. 

This week temporary access from the jetty to the road at Torea Barge Ramp has been installed, to maintain pedestrian access while construction of the new barge ramp is underway. Construction is scheduled to begin on Monday 3 March with work carried out from Monday to Saturday between the hours of 6am to 8pm, to work in with tides.

From Monday 10 to Friday 14 March, short road closures of up to 30 minutes will be in place near the Nopera Golf Course for tree felling. 

Minor works, shoulder support and road stabilisation on Kenepuru Road between the Heads and Waitaria Bay is underway. From next week there will be two sites within this section, please expect minor delays. 

From Wednesday 12 March daytime construction closures will be in place on Kenepuru Road, approximately 2km past Ohauparuparu Bay for drainage improvements and culvert installation. Please see the road closure section for further information.

Please note we are currently undertaking unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) surveying of Kenepuru Road and surrounding areas. The UAV surveys topographical features of the road and surrounding slopes/slips to inform designs.

Culvert outlet installation on Moetapu Bay Road

Pavement preparation at Water Tank slip ahead of sealing this week

Moetapu Bay

Work at Elephant Point on Moetapu Bay Road is drawing to a close with pavement preparation underway this week for road sealing on Monday 3 March (weather dependant). Sealing will require a short closure between 10am and 1pm, with openings on the hour. Please see the road closure section for more information. 

Drainage improvements and culvert upgrades continue along Moetapu Bay Road. Work to install the remaining culverts and complete concrete channel construction is underway.

From Wednesday 12 March to Monday 17 March daytime construction closures are required prior to Driftwood corner for the installation of a culvert that traverses the road. Please refer to the road closure section for more information.

Outside of these road closures works will be completed under stop/go traffic management. Please plan ahead for minor delays.

Pelorus

Work at Dalton's Bridge continued this week. The crews completed reinstating the road after it was damaged due to riverbank scour. The road is now sealed and the crew has disestablished from site. 

This week an overslip in Kaiuma Bay, 5km before the end of the road was cleared. Vegetation was removed and drainage was cleared before the culvert was repaired and the road reinstated.

Queen Charlotte Drive

This week the crew have been working to clear an overslip and complete drainage works in Momorangi Bay. This work has included channel and water table and storm water clearance. 

Removal of the overslip on Mahakipawa Hill, 1km from Havelock on Queen Charlotte Drive is now complete.

Drainage improvements on Moenui Road have also been completed.

From Monday 10 March drainage improvements on Pukenui Road are scheduled to begin under daily road closures. Please see the road closure section of this newsletter for more information. 

Please follow all traffic management when you're travelling through our worksites to ensure the safety of crews and road users. Temporary speed restrictions and traffic management will be in place. Please plan ahead and allow for minor delays of up to 10 minutes at each site. 

Overslip clearance at Mahakipawa Hill, Queen Charlotte Drive

Drainage improvements on Moenui Road, Queen Charlotte Drive

Waihopai Valley

Works at multiple sites along Waihopai Valley Road to clear an overslip, undertake minor drainage works and carry out road scour repairs is now complete. 

Abutment protection works to redirect the river at Craiglochart Bridge are now complete, following vegetation removal last week.

Vegetation clearance in preparation for abutment protection works at Craiglochart, Waihopai Valley

Rock bags in place at the Craiglochart Bridge pier to remediate scour damage and prevent future erosion

Further Information

Marlborough Roads 0800 213 213 or 03 520 8024, between 9.00am - 4.00pm, Monday to Friday.

For more information on the Marlborough Roads recovery project or to subscribe to this newsletter, contact us at recovery@marlboroughroads.com

Visit our webpage: www.nzta.govt.nz/marlborough-roads-recovery

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. 

If you require welfare support contact Marlborough District Council  on 03 520 7400 or email mdc@marlborough.govt.nz

If you require an overlength permit for vehicles over 12.6m to travel on Queen Charlotte Drive between Linkwater and Picton please email Marlborough Roads NZTA Office, 4 Market Street Blenheim on MRoadsadmin@nzta.govt.nz