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SH1 Belfast to Pegasus motorway and Woodend Bypass

Project update

1 November 2024

SH1 North Canterbury corridor safety improvements

In July, the Belfast to Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass (B2P) was prioritised for delivery as one of the Government’s first Roads of National Significance.

You’re receiving this B2P newsletter because you’re already a subscriber to the SH1 North Canterbury corridor or SH1 Saltwater Creek to Cam River road safety improvements newsletter, and we thought you would be interested in this project.

We’ll use this newsletter and our website to keep you updated about the SH1 Belfast to Pegasus motorway and Woodend Bypass (B2P) project.

You may also see information about the project in local and social media and at community events as we make progress. However, if you don’t want these updates, you can unsubscribe at the bottom of this newsletter.

Background - SH1 Belfast to Pegasus motorway and Woodend Bypass

This project has been part of future planning in North Canterbury for decades.

In 2015, a route for the bypass was decided and a designation was put in place to protect the land needed for the project. This followed several studies, the last one being the Woodend Corridor investigation, carried out between 2011 and 2014.

It was this study that recommended a bypass to the east of the Woodend Township as the best long-term option, and it then gained the designation to give the local community some certainty on the future.

About the project

SH1 from Belfast to Pegasus is the key freight route to the north of Christchurch, and the growing population and increased traffic volumes are causing travel time and reliability issues along the corridor.

This growth and the increased traffic on SH1 through Woodend is creating safety and access issues for the local community, and this will only get worse as traffic continues to grow.

Significant commercial and residential developments in Ravenswood and Pegasus over the last 10 years have led to high traffic volumes sooner than expected, and this is leading to delays and safety concerns.

SH1 Belfast to Pegasus motorway and Woodend Bypass is a 9km four-lane motorway extension of SH1 north of Christchurch, running from the SH1/SH71 Lineside Road interchange and finishing just north of Pegasus. It also includes a bypass of Woodend to the east.

The project will create an efficient and reliable state highway connection between Belfast and Pegasus.

The project map shows the location of the new motorway and bypass.

Key features of the project

Key features of the project include:

An upgraded four-lane motorway between SH71 Lineside Road and Williams Street, Pineacres.
A new section of four-lane motorway that bypasses Woodend Town Centre to the east between Williams Street, Pineacres and Pegasus Boulevard/Bob Robertson Drive.
Access to the local road network at Lineside Road, Williams Street and Pegasus Boulevard/Bob Robertson Drive.
Overbridges at Woodend Beach Road and Gladstone Road to support these local connections.

We’ll keep you updated about other design features as we make progress.

What about plans for SH1 from Saltwater Creek to Cam River?

The B2P project will make a difference to traffic numbers and the sort of traffic moving through Woodend.

At the beginning of September, the NZTA Board adopted the 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme. In line with the Government’s transport priorities, our focus now is on:

Delivering safe roading infrastructure via the Roads of National Significance and Roads of Regional Significance
Providing enhanced maintenance and highway resilience
Increased support for Police enforcement.

The combination of refocussing safety investment and prioritising an alternative route to the existing state highway corridor means the plans for SH1 safety upgrades from Saltwater Creek to Cam River will no longer progress to construction. This includes plans south of the Pegasus roundabout to the Cam River.

While we’re working on the design of the new motorway, safety upgrade plans for the area north of Pegasus to Saltwater Creek will be rescoped with the B2P project in mind.

Any work on the existing highway, north of the Pegasus roundabout, will likely happen between Saltwater Creek and Tulls Road. This will be very minor in scope and will not include flexible median safety barrier.

Thank you to everyone who gave us feedback on this section of highway. It has provided us with valuable information on how people use the highway.

Project timing

Planning for the project is underway, and the final costs are being determined.

Following the Government’s announcement in July that this project would be prioritised for delivery, we’ve been working with our Treaty Partners and the Waimakariri District Council to understand their aspirations and wider network plans so we can consider these while revisiting the original scheme design.

As the designation and plans have been around for some time, our first job is to make sure what was put in place in 2015 is still what we need in 2024 with the added growth and development that has happened in north Canterbury since this time.

The main construction phase will likely start in the 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme period and it will take around four years to complete. We’ll update you as plans progress, including information about tolling, design and construction timeframes.


	More information

Visit our website nzta.govt.nz/b2p for more information on the SH1 Belfast to Pegasus motorway and Woodend Bypass

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