First chance to try motorway
Tyres can finally touch asphalt on Christchurch’s long-awaited $290 million Northern Corridor motorway.
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) will partially open the 10-kilometre motorway on Monday to help bed in the chip seal surface before all four lanes open in mid-December.
One traffic lane in each direction will be open until December 11 – northbound traffic between 7am and 4pm, and southbound traffic between 10am and 6pm.
A temporary 50kmh speed limit will be in place because of loose gravel on the motorway, but it could increase to 70kmh depending on the road conditions.
The lanes will shift during the day so the traffic beds in all four lanes.
The Northern Corridor extends the Christchurch Northern Motorway through to QEII Drive and Cranford St.
It cost $290m to build, compared to an original budget of $240m, and was originally due to open mid-2020.
NZTA blamed the delays on extra work that had been added to the project, and longer than expected settlement times for bad ground.
The slumping foundations of a bridge over QEII Drive had to be rebuilt, which included removing the ramps that lead up to the bridge so 445 steel piles could be put in to stabilise the soft ground.
The latest delay gave the Christchurch City Council more time to complete controversial upgrades to Cranford St to prepare for the extra motorway traffic. It is predicted to carry 42,000 vehicles a day by 2026.
Construction started in October 2016, but the project has been talked about since the 1960s.
It has faced significant pushback from nearby residents since its inception, particularly homeowners in St Albans, who were concerned about the sudden influx of traffic the nearby motorway is expected to bring.
The city council is expected to vote tomorrow on whether to add additional lanes to Cranford St.
NZTA portfolio manager Colin MacKay said the agency was planning an open day on December 12 when people would be able to walk or cycle the motorway.
The motorway will be fully open to all traffic, all four lanes, from December 17.