Brougham Street’s $150m revamp begins

Wednesday, 16 July 2025

Work is set to start on a major upgrade to one of Christchurch’s busiest roads.

The $150 million revamp to Brougham St, State Highway 76, is to get under way on Wednesday, with the first sod to be turned, Transport Minister Chris Bishop said.

The first stage of the project would focus on a new pedestrian and cycle bridge over Brougham St at Collins St and Simeon St, which would provide a safe crossing for children getting to and from school, and for people with impaired mobility, Bishop said.

The bridge was expected to be completed in about two years, with Fulton Hogan building it.

Improved traffic signals, T2 lanes (for vehicles with two or more occupants), new signalised crossings and a shared path along the south side of Brougham St would be completed in the second stage.

Congestion and safety on the busy road had been issues of concern for Christchurch for “some time now”, he said.

South Island Minister James Meager said he was “really pleased” to see work begin.

“This is a major piece of critical infrastructure not only for Christchurch but the wider South Island, and is essential in ensuring we can get our goods from A to B in a timely fashion – to bolster productivity and economic growth.'

In May last year the Government decided to put the brakes on the then-$90m upgrade, deciding it would have no further funding and only be readied to a “pre-implementation” phase, outraging city leaders. But in February, Bishop said the Government would now prioritise upgrades to it as a road of regional significance.

Brougham St was a key freight link between Lyttelton Port and the Christchurch Southern Motorway, with more than 45,000 vehicles using it every day.