Funding for safety underpass Tucker Beach Road, near Queenstown, approved

The NZ Transport Agency is pleased to advise that funding has been approved for safety improvements at the Tucker Beach Road intersection with State Highway 6 near Frankton, Queenstown.

“The difficult right turn out of Tucker Beach Road will be replaced with a slip road accessed via the existing road under the Shotover River Bridge,” says Jim Harland, Director Regional Relationships for the Transport Agency.

“At the same time, water and waste water services will be laid in the highway as part of the future infrastructure to support the further development of Quail Rise. The construction work will be tendered this week aiming to have the slip road operational by Christmas 2018.”

The total project is estimated to cost around $6 million, which includes $1.6 million from Queenstown Lakes District Council for their infrastructure work.

“The people who live in Quail Rise and Tucker Beach Road are delighted that this work is proceeding after many years of growing traffic and increasing difficulty turning out of Tucker Beach Road. The underpass and slip road will dramatically reduce the risk of injury or death for cyclists, car and bus commuters,” local residents’ spokesperson Kerry Dunlop says.

“This is great news and gratifying for the Council which has continued to place considerable emphasis on the need for this decision,” says Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Jim Boult. “During the local body election campaign in October 2016, the Quail Rise/ Tucker Beach Road intersection was raised as an issue of great concern to residents. The new Council engaged with the Transport Agency to have this treated as a priority project in late 2016. Subsequent growth of traffic volumes, and unfortunately a number of accidents at the corner, have continued to focus the Council on working with the Transport Agency to reach a solution.

“Personally, this has taken longer than I would have liked but I understand the need for the Transport Agency to ensure appropriate decisions are made, and congratulate the agency on listening to the needs of our community and acting to address this pressing work. The local community also made a firm stand in the interests of safety and they too should be recognised for their efforts.”

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