The $2.6 million upgrades to Dyers Pass Rd will include the widening of road shoulders, installing guardrails, supporting retaining walls and allowing additional space for cyclists on the uphill side of the road.
On average, there are 7274 traffic movements per day on the stretch of road between Hackthorne Rd in Cashmere and Governors Bay - a popular route for motor vehicles, motor-cycles and cycles.
The upgrades come just over a month after Aaron Sadler, 40, and Mitchell Rutter, 23, were killed in a head-on motor-cycle collision between the Sign of the Takahe and Sign of the Kiwi cafes on November 3.
From 2008 to November 4 there have been 272 crashes on Dyers Pass Rd.
Christchurch City Council transport planning and delivery manager Lynette Ellis said currently, construction is planned to start in autumn 2020 and will be completed before the end of winter.
Banks Peninsula Community Board chairwoman Tori Peden is a member of the advisory committee for the Summit Road Protection Authority, which is involved in the approval of consents for the improvements.
“There are more and more users of the road and with the increase of users there is also risk of further accidents and unfortunately deaths, and that is heartbreaking to hear,” she said.
“This is about how we, as a local authority that takes care of that road, make it better for all users.”
In the lead up to the improvement work, investigations are being carried out on Dyers Pass Rd until December 20.
They include flushing and videoing stormwater culverts, footpath investigations, rock sampling and geotechnical investigations.
The work will be carried out on weekdays, between 7am and 6pm, subject to weather and on-site conditions.
