Two of Upper Clutha’s main country roads will receive safety upgrades in the coming months thanks to a joint project between the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Authority.
The work on Wānaka-Mt Aspiring Rd and Cardrona Valley Rd will be undertaken in stages to "minimise disruption", said QLDC general manager of property and infrastructure Tony Avery.
"Over 9000 metres of new safety barriers will be installed, in addition to road signage and markings, minor earthworks, and landscaping and native planting in some of the locations," said Mr Avery.
"Crews have started on Wānaka-Mt Aspiring Rd before they move to Cardrona Valley Rd and other portions of these upgrades."
The upgrades follow a corridor assessment QLDC and Stantec carried out to highlight the degree of risk in locations across Upper Clutha, and how to effectively address it.
While the installation of most safety improvements will take place to the side of the road being worked on, some changes to traffic flow will be required to make sure construction crews and drivers remain safe.
"It’s important any drivers heading through these work sites abide by signage and any temporary speed limits," Mr Avery said.
The road safety improvements are partially funded by Waka Kotahi’s Road to Zero strategy, while the contract for the work was awarded to South Roads.
Following a staff briefing at last week’s Wānaka Upper-Clutha Community Board workshop, board chairman Simon Telfer said he was "thrilled" with progress on the project.
"As a board we had a focus on getting stuff done in the first year of this term and we are delivering on that. It’s come about through strong advocacy and building productive relationships with QLDC staff."