Traffic has been diverted from SH84’s Wanaka-Luggate Highway near the new Three Parks roundabout this week as a new pedestrian/cycle underpass is constructed beneath the highway.

Wanaka’s Central Machine Hire positioned its 100-tonne crane on the cordoned off highway and lifted 10 underpass boxes into place yesterday (Tuesday August 25). 

The precast concrete boxes will form the tunnel under the highway connecting existing sealed walk/bike paths from Three Parks to established trails around Mt Iron and towards Wanaka’s town centre.

Active Transport Wanaka advocate Simon Telfer said the community campaigned hard for a safe crossing of SH84 and added he was pleased the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) agreed the underpass was the safest way to get cyclists, particularly children, across the highway.

Precast concrete underpass boxes are delivered to the underpass construction site.

“This is the culmination of a lot of community advocacy - it’s exciting to finally see a ‘shovel in the ground’,” Simon said.

Bike Wanaka club president Tim David said while the underpass itself wasn’t a game changer for recreational cyclists he applauded the investment in the biking network.

“Any sort of biking infrastructure is fantastic. It means people are taking our participation in biking seriously and that’s reflected in having this [underpass] built”.

The two-way traffic detour was shaped to track around the large trees at the side of the highway.

NZTA senior project manager Simon Underwood said the cost of the project including pathways and affected road works was $1.5M.

Pedestrian underpasses on a state highway aren't common and, in this case, the temporary traffic detour had to be creative to enable the continuation of two-way traffic flow.

The detour is deliberately shaped to track around mature trees, Simon said. The alternative would have been a lengthy detour.

The popular Mt Iron trail will connect with the new underpass.

“The temporary detour is shaped to give the contractor [the] room they need to excavate the highway and place the underpass boxes.”

Preparatory work began on the underpass last year in concert with the development of the Three Parks roundabout. Road works will continue through into October/November, over which time the roundabout surfacing will also be completed, he said.

While the traffic detour around mature gum trees will remain in place until the underpass is complete and road reinstated, the public track around the base of Mt Iron will remain open.

The underpass is an important component of Wanaka’s active transport network, Simon Telfer said, and he hopes to see another section of the network, the Aubrey Road cycleway upgrade, start “before Christmas”.  

PHOTOS: Wanaka App