This Week's Summary

With heavy rain warnings in place, drivers are urged to check road and weather conditions online before they travel. If it is not safe, please delay your journey.

In the French Pass, crews continue to remove spoil and debris from the Ronga Road slip site, 5.5km from the SH6 turnoff. 

Works are also continuing to repair a roadside scour, at the Havelock Causeway, 200m from the SH6 turnoff near Havelock.

Culvert works will commence on Elie Bay Road from Monday 8 May, which will require daytime road closures. Please see the road closure section for more information including timings. 

Works are planned to start next week at Kennet Bridge on Awatere Valley Road to undertake river training, weather permitting.

Please follow all traffic management signage and be aware of a large number of truck movements on roads throughout the recovery zone. 

Marlborough District Council will be removing all of the temporary rubbish skips from the Kenepuru at the end of May.

Keep reading for information on:

• Weather Warning
• Marlborough Sounds Future Access Study
• Road Closures
• Winter Resilience Works
• Restricted Access Roads
• Resident Definition
• Awatere Valley Road
• French Pass
• Kenepuru 
• Queen Charlotte Drive
• Support

Information and Support

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

Visit Marlborough District Council's website for a fortnightly Marlborough Recovery Update, posted on a Friday afternoon. 

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 8am - 5pm, Monday to Friday

Email: recovery@marlboroughroads.com

Weather Warning

With heavy rain warnings issued, motorists are urged to be extra careful on the region’s roads over the next few days.

The Metservice has a heavy rain warning for Marlborough for almost two days from six pm tonight. Up to 350 mm of rain is expected for the Richmond and Bryant Ranges and the Rai Valley.

Mark Owen, Waka Kotahi's Regional Manager Lower North Island/ Top of the South, says people need to be ready.

“We are keeping a close eye on the weather and have our contractors ready to respond if it causes problems. However, past experiences show that slips, treefalls, and flooding can happen quickly. It means roads can be closed at short notice.”

This is likely to be a significant weather event. Drivers should check weather and road conditions before travelling and be prepared for road closures and delays.

Residents on Kenepuru Road, between Linkwater and the Heads are also reminded that there is increased hazard on this section of restricted road during rain.

Drivers are urged to check road and weather conditions online before they travel. If it’s not safe, please delay your journey.

Keep up to date with weather warnings by visiting the Metservice website.

In the event of heavy rain stay informed by listening to the radio and following the Council’s Facebook page or website.

For State Highway conditions visit Waka Kotahi's Journey Planner.

Download the Antenno app to receive updates on your phone.

Work by engineering consultancy Stantec to prepare a business case on behalf of Council and Waka Kotahi to fund a future-proof transport network in the Sounds is moving ahead.

Following the public consultation phase, The Marlborough Sounds Future Access Study project team has been reviewing the community’s feedback and a range of technical criteria to inform potential future transport options for the Sounds.

Council expects to be in a position soon, to propose an indicative preferred option for each of five areas in the Sounds:

• Rai Valley to French Pass, including Tennyson Inlet and D’Urville Island
• Pelorus including Kaiuma Bay Road
• Kenepuru Road and the outer Sounds
• Queen Charlotte Drive; and
• Port Underwood.

The project team is planning to run drop-in meetings around the Sounds and in Blenheim, and online for those wanting to attend in person, in mid to late June to explain what they’re proposing, and the likely costs.

Read the full media statement from Marlborough District Council. It includes a summary of the public feedback from the survey carried out in February.

Sign up for study email updates.

Road Closures

To undertake culvert replacements in the Kenepuru area there will be daytime construction closures in place at the following days and times: 

From Monday 8 May on Elie Bay Road from 8am to 12pm and 1pm to 4pm. The closure will operate from Monday to Friday on working days with a lunchtime opening between 12pm and 1pm daily. 

The closure locations on Elie Bay Road will be between RP 435 (435m from start of the road) to RP 2777 (2.8km from the start of the road). 

Please note that there may be works undertaken outside of these closures under stop/go traffic management. Please follow all traffic management and expect delays. 

Winter Resilience Works

The Marlborough Roads Recovery Team is working on maintenance fixes to build road resilience around the Sounds as we head into winter. 

For example, work is underway to install new culverts in the Kenepuru area, strengthening of some road pavements for vehicles is continuing, and there is grading and gravelling work in areas.

Restricted Access Roads

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

Some roads remain restricted to resident and emergency or essential services access only and some with other restrictions.

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

Kenepuru Road to the Heads and its side roads, including Moetapu Bay Road, are restricted to residents and emergency or essential services only. They are not suitable for non-residents.

The section of Kenepuru Road between Linkwater to the Heads and its side roads, has severe storm damage and entry into this section of the road is at resident and emergency or essential services drivers' discretion.

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

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

The following restrictions also apply on Kenepuru and Moetapu Bay roads;

• No campervans, vans or buses.
• Only 4WD and light vehicles under 3.5 tonnes. No HCV.
• On Kenepuru Road, between Moetapu Bay to The Heads, no vehicles more than eight metres in length.

There are the following hazards on Kenepuru Road:

• Slips
• Drop outs
• Single lane in places
• Increased hazard during rain
• Uneven surfaces and gravel sections
• Queen Charlotte Drive is open to all vehicles less than 12.6m.

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.

If you know any non-residents who might be considering visiting the Kenepuru area, please advise them to make use of the Council’s water taxi subsidy. Water taxi services can be booked through the Picton, Blenheim and Havelock i-SITES or directly with the provider.

Visit the Marlborough District Council Website for more information. 

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 land, 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. 

Awatere Valley Road

Works are completed at the Limestone revetment with the exception of hydroseeding, which will be undertaken when weather allows.

River training works are planned to start next week at Kennet Bridge, weather permitting. Please be aware of increased truck movements in this area. 

French Pass

Crews have continued to remove spoil and debris from the Ronga Road slip site, 5.5km from the SH6 turnoff.

Please expect increased truck movements in this area. The works are being managed with a 30km speed limit in place. 

Clearance works at the Ronga Road slip site are progressing well.

Kenepuru

This week crews have set up, for culvert replacement works to begin from Monday 8 May on Elie Bay Road. These works require day time road closures between 8am to 12pm and 1pm to 4pm daily. These works are planned for two weeks before moving to Crail Bay Road, weather permitting. 

The closure locations on Elie Bay Road will be between RP 435 (435m from start of the road) to RP 2777 (2.8km from the start of the road).

There may be works outside of the closure under stop/go traffic management, including on Saturdays. Please follow all traffic management and expect delays. 

Marlborough District Council will be removing all of the temporary rubbish skips from the Kenepuru at the end of May.

Queen Charlotte Drive

Crews  are continuing to repair a large scour at the Havelock Causeway, 200m from the SH6 Havelock turnoff.

Last week, crews prepared and poured the first section of concrete for the scour protection and started the removal of the damaged concrete section.

This week, crews have removed concrete from the damaged section and placed riprap through the water section. They have also prepped the next section for concrete, to be poured when weather permits. 

This section of the road is down to one lane with works being carried out under stop/go traffic management, please expect delays. 

First section of Havelock Causeway site prepped for concrete

Support

Community Meetings

The Marlborough Recovery Team have hosted a number of community events including the recent Marlborough Sounds Future Access Study meetings. For more information view Council's Fortnightly Recovery Updates and the Future Access Study 

Barge Subsidies

Council will underwrite barge subsidies into the Kenepuru and Queen Charlotte Sounds to assist residents impacted by the August 22 storm event. 

Water Taxi Subsidies

Marlborough District Council with funding support, will subsidise water taxi services for residents, workers and visitors to the areas in the Marlborough Sounds that were previously accessible by road. 

For more information on any of these services, visit Marlborough District Council's Website.