Nats pledge $1.5b road upgrade

National is promising a $1.5 billion upgrade to the road between Christchurch and Ashburton if elected.

The proposal would upgrade about 60 kilometres of State Highway 1 to have two lanes in each direction with a barrier in the middle, new bridges over the Rakaia, Selwyn and Ashburton rivers, and improve intersections and create safe roadsides clear of obstacles.

Party leader Todd Muller described the project as ‘‘transformational’’ for Canterbury, when announcing the policy yesterday.

‘‘State Highway 1 is the major economic corridor for the movement of freight and commercial activity in the South Island. If we want our economy to create jobs, having an efficient transport network is essential,’’ Muller said.

If National was elected, planning would begin during its first term with construction expected to start soon after 2023.

The motorway would connect to the Christchurch Southern Motorway, now being built between Rolleston and Christchurch.

National’s statement outlining the policy said this section of SH1 was one of the most dangerous

stretches of highway in New Zealand, with 24 deaths and 119 serious injuries since 2010.

Two people died in a three-car crash on this road on June 25, when a southbound car crossed the centreline and hit two other vehicles which were heading north.

Rangitata MP Andrew Falloon, whose electorate includes MidCanterbury, said the highway was becoming more dangerous.

‘‘Traffic volumes have grown, and every week I have people contacting my office in Ashburton who feel unsafe about travelling through to Christchurch,’’ the National Party MP said.

By comparison, the four-lane roads built as part of the roads of national significance project were ‘‘some of the safest roads in the country’’, he said. He also said the road served as a ‘‘handbrake to future growth’’ in a region with a strong primary sector growth.

Falloon said the Government had funnelled funding from highway improvements into Auckland transport projects.

The last National Government’s roads of national significance project included widening State Highway 1 between Christchurch and Ashburton, but this was still to be done at the time of the 2017 election and the current Labour Government did not follow through with the plan.

In June, National committed to an expressway between Belfast and Pegasus, which would bypass Woodend and extend the underconstruction Christchurch Northern Motorway.

Between January 1 and July 8 this year, 17 people have been killed on Canterbury roads.

‘‘If we want our economy to create jobs, having an efficient transport network is essential.’’

Todd Muller National Party leader