Woodend Bypass, second bridge for Ashburton mooted in expected announcement

Thursday, 17 August 2023

In 2021, the sole Ashburton Bridge slumped, forcing the closure of State Highway 1.

A second bridge over the Ashburton River and a bypass around the town of Woodend may be completed by 2030, under proposals to be announced on Thursday by the Government.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will reveal the Government’s 10-year guidance to Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency in Auckland when he and Minister of Transport David Parker issue the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS).

The Press understands the announcement will include commitments to progressing the Christchurch Northern Link (Woodend Bypass), improvements to State Highway 1 between Christchurch and Ashburton and a long-awaited second bridge for the Ashburton River.

Work on a Woodend Bypass could start as soon as 2026 and take three years to complete. Woodend locals have amped up protests and petitions in recent years as housing and traffic in the area has boomed. (File photo)

Detail is lacking, but the announcement - said to contain “record funding over the next three years” - identifies 14 critical transport projects which are a mix of new roading, public transport, and boosts to road maintenance.

The commitment to progressing the Woodend Bypass (Christchurch Northern Link) - which may not see completion before 2030 - is understood to include upgrades for State Highway 1 from the Waimakariri River to Ashley River, potentially additional lanes on SH1 from Lineside Rd to Cam River and the possible widening of the Ashley River Bridge.

Work, including property purchase, to create a second river crossing for the Hakatere/Ashburton River could begin in 2024-25, with construction starting in 2026-27 and taking two years to complete.

The Ashburton River Hakatere Bridge was badly damaged by the severe flooding in 2021, highlighting the fragility of South Island freight and road connections. (File photo)

The Government is also expected to ask Waka Kotahi to investigate improvements to State Highway 1 between Christchurch and Ashburton, and to report back in late 2024.

Flooding in 2021 saw the South Island essentially cut in half after significant damage caused the closure of the Ashburton River Hakatere Bridge on State Highway 1. The lack of alternatives saw some faced with a 13-hour diversion.

Heavy rains last month again prompted Waka Kotahi to close the bridge for about 12 hours due to a build-up of debris.

Campaigners have been calling for a second bridge for the Mid Canterbury town for close to two decades, but there has been no lack of controversy over funding and proposed locations.

The Woodend Bypass - an extension of the Western Belfast Bypass - has been on the table since 2013, but has encountered multiple delays and funding setbacks, as residents ramped up petitions, protests and meetings in the face of ever-increasing traffic volumes. In 2020, Waka Kotahi said there were no plans to progress the project.

The National Party promised $270 million to build the Woodend bypass, which it identified as one of 13 new roads of national significance in the party’s transport policy launched last month.

At the time, long-time bypass backer Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey said his party would deliver the bypass in its first term if elected, and that the road was one of the most dangerous in Canterbury, with nine fatal and 33 serious crashes between 2000 and 2018, while AA Canterbury/West Coast chairperson John Skevington said the road “has one the highest daily traffic counts on SH1 in New Zealand”.

National’s Transport for the Future policy also included a second bridge for Ashburton, but appeared to shift away from a previous commitment for a $1.5 billion four-lane motorway between Christchurch and Ashburton, which now showed up on a list of “projects for further investigation”.

The Government’s announcement is understood to include funding for public transport schemes in other regions, such as public transport prioritisation in the Bay of Plenty, and work on implementing a mass rapid public transport system from the Wellington city centre to southern and eastern suburbs, but appeared to lack any specific on public transport projects for Canterbury.