Detouring motorists told avoid shortcuts

Motorists taking the detour route between Nelson and Blenheim are being urged to stick to the state highways rather than trying to use rural roads as a shortcut.

The main route between the two main centres in Te Tauihu (the top of the south) closed between Rai Valley and Hira on November 1, and isn’t scheduled to reopen until December 18. The closure is to allow for urgent repairs to damage caused by the August flooding.

Instead, motorists are being redirected via SH63 past St Arnaud, which then reconnects to SH6 south of Nelson – a route that takes about 2 hours and 46 minutes.

But, while many locals will have been planning to cut that journey down by about 20 minutes by using a shortcut via Tophouse, Tasman District Council is urging people to stick to the state highways.

Usually, motorists heading from Nelson could cut out St Arnaud by turning onto Eighty Eight Valley Rd at Wakefield, or Wai-Iti Valley Rd at Belgrove, to Golden Downs, and then cut across to SH63 via Tophouse.

But a section of that route – Stock Rd – is also shut due to planned roadworks, and will be until November 25.

Council spokesman Chris Choat said the road required a full pavement treatment and had been closed since October 25.

‘‘This is achieved by rebuilding the layers of gravel underneath the surface of the road, followed by sealing and, the replacement of any culverts,’’ Choat said.

‘‘Not only is speed of the job a consideration in closing the road completely, the replacement of culverts on rural roads requires open trench work across the road

itself. ‘‘For the duration of this project, the road will be closed 24/7 and cannot be used as a thoroughfare.’’

Meanwhile, the other way to access the shortcut is via Valley Rd to Golden Downs, but that was a rural road that could be impacted by stock movements, and also logging operations on adjacent land which was currently happening, he said.

‘‘Due to safety reasons, there will be stop/stop operations happening continuously throughout the summer period and delays of up to 5 minutes at a time should be expected when in affect.’’

The roads also weren’t designed for heavy traffic, so the safest – and best – option for motorists was to stick to the state highways, he said.

‘‘While the SH63/SH6 detour is 30km longer, it is a quicker and safer route, especially for heavy traffic. They are roads designed and built for continuous and heavy use, unlike Valley Rd and Korere-Tophouse Rd, which were built for significantly lower volumes of traffic.’’