The long-awaited project to improve the safety of Ballantyne Road is making progress, according to the council.

Fifteen months after the business case for the $6.4M joint project between the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) and the New Zealand Transport Authority was approved, the detailed design stage is now complete and, subject to council approval, the project will go out to tender this month.

“Construction works are expected to commence in early November for completion by the end April 2021,” QLDC spokesperson Jack Barlow said.

When funding was announced in May 2019, investment in the safety project to upgrade Ballantyne Road, from State Highway 6 to the sealed section leading to the Cardrona River bridge, was considered a top priority.

Parts of Ballantyne Road have been widened but the gravel and undulations remain.

In the intervening period the speed limit has been reduced from 80kph to 60kph and some sections of gravel have been widened and graded.

The arterial road has a combination of chip seal, gravel, and Otta seal and, although relatively straight, it’s narrow with unformed shoulders. 

Jack said the reseal project will address existing safety issues which relate to the road’s inconsistent surface, dust and undulations which reduce visibility, a lack of road markings and the road’s narrow width. 

Segments of the road alternate between gravel and Otta seal (a bituminous surface treatment). 

“Upgrades include sealing of four kilometres of unsealed road, a low speed environment by design, and one metre sealed shoulders to allow for walking and cycling and improved drainage. A number of power poles will also be relocated as part of the works,” he said.

In a report to council at last week’s full council meeting, QLDC chief executive Mike Theelen said a recent engineering workshop identified several changes proposed to reduce the cost of the proposed stormwater management solution associated with the road’s upgrade. 

Several meetings were also held with Aurora to discuss the existing power poles. Changes to their design were introduced to limit the number of affected power poles, resulting in a cost saving in the region of $260,000, Mike said. 

Last year QLDC property and infrastructure general manager Peter Hansby said a major upgrade of this nature was difficult as the design must strike the right balance between safety, community requirements, active travel and affordability.

PHOTOS: Wanaka App