Almost 18 years after the first safety concerns were raised about Ballantyne Road, the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has announced it will upgrade the remaining unsealed section of the road following funding approval from the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA).

QLDC property and infrastructure general manager Peter Hansby said the NZTA and the QLDC will share equally the $6.4m project cost to seal the road and upgrade it to meet modern safety standards.

“Upgrading any legacy road is a difficult balancing act. We have worked very closely with the Transport Agency and many people in the Wanaka community to agree a preferred design that strikes a balance between safety, community requirements, active travel and affordability,” Peter said.

In October 2016, local teenage driver Jackson James (“JJ”) Aitchison was killed when he lost control on Ballantyne Road and drove into a tree.

Wanaka Community Board (WCB) member and WCB representative on the Mt Barker Residents’ Association Ed Taylor said the decision to finally seal all of Ballantyne Road is a victory for the perseverance for the Association and its refusal “to take no for an answer”.

“At my first meeting out at Mt Barker I was told in no uncertain terms that their number one priority was getting the road sealed because it was a dangerous road,” he said.

Months prior to the crash Dr David Allen had raised safety concerns about the road at a Wanaka Community Board meeting, when he told the board there had been five accidents there in six weeks.

According to David, a Ballantyne Road resident for more than 25 years, safety concerns about the road were raised as early as 2001 during Wanaka’s 2020 planning process.

A year after JJ’s death, the council told the Wanaka App it had submitted a business case to the NZTA for 50 percent of funding for road sealing and said, if it was successful, the road sealing would take place in 2018 or 2019.

The upgrade project announced today (Monday May 13) will include a range of safety improvements:

• A sealed surface and clear zone on both sides, significantly reducing the risk of crashes in the area.
• A low speed environment by design, i.e. paint markings or planting, with further traffic calming methods applied if necessary.
• One metre wide sealed shoulders to allow for walking and cycling. 

“The Transport Agency understands the need for improved safety on this road. It is something the people of Wānaka have been asking for over a number of years so we are delighted to land on a solution that will see the road sealed and upgraded,” he said.

Following the completion of a detailed design and further community input, construction of the upgrade, from the intersection at SH6 to join where the seal currently ends on the airport side of the Cardrona River bridge, is scheduled to start next year.

PHOTO: Wanaka App