Road to be widened at Roys Peak car park

WORK to widen Mt Aspiring Rd near the entrance to the Roys Peak Track car park near Wanaka started yesterday.

Queenstown Lakes District council senior project manager Rob Darby said the council would upgrade the vehicle entrance to the car park by constructing a slip lane and additional widening on the opposing side of the road.

He said ‘‘the work will make a huge difference to the safety and accessibility of the start of this very popular track.’’

The Department of Conservation will use the same contractors to extend and seal the car park, doubling current parking capacity.

Doc Central Otago operations manager Mike Tubbs said the work was timed to minimise the impact on track users and coin cided with the normal spring closure of the track for lambing on Alphaburn Station.

Roys Peak Track is one of the most popular day walks in the country. A total of 58,000 visitors used it between November 2016 and July 2017.

The walk was recently selected for inclusion in Doc’s new network of New Zealand’s best day hikes. Mr Tubbs said its inclusion in the network recognised the track pro vided an ‘‘exceptional walking experience’’ that would meet people’s needs and expectations, he said.

The QLDC also plans to build a 500m gravel track linking the Roys Peak Track car park to the Glendhu Bay biking and walking track beside Lake Wanaka in the Damper Bay area.

‘‘This will provide a safer means for walkers to move between the two tracks,’’ Mr Darby said.