Crown Range Road Restrictions

Access between the Crown Range summit and Cardrona will be restricted for up to ten days while heavy machinery is working to clear a section of unstable hillside above the road.

Queenstown Lake District Council contractors will begin work on Friday (11 December) and the road will be reduced to one lane with traffic management in place between 8am and 5pm on weekdays. Delays of up to 10 minutes can be expected through the day. The work is due to finish before Christmas.

Overnight and at weekends there will be a speed restriction of 50km/hr through the area.

General Manager Infrastructure Peter Hansby said that the instability was discovered while engineers were inspecting another slope, which had previously been earmarked for stabilising work in 2016-17.

Engineers have calculated that up to 1000m3 of material needs to be moved, to prevent a sudden slip which would block the road resulting in an immediate closure. The work has been programmed urgently for safety reasons and to avoid disruption during the summer holiday season.

The cost has been budgeted at up to $200,000. The NZ Transport Agency will meet 90% of the cost with QLDC paying the rest.

Mr Hansby said that although the road would remain open, people travelling between Wanaka and the Wakatipu might find it quicker to take SH6 through the Kawarau Gorge while the work was underway.

ENDS

© Scoop Media