The Ashburton District Mayor is welcoming a proposal to build a four lane highway from Christchurch to Ashburton.
National made the announcement yesterday.
SH1 between Christchurch and Ashburton is one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in New Zealand, with 24 deaths and 119 serious injuries since 2010.
Leader Todd Muller says it will be a transformational project for Canterbury, creating important economic stimulus and jobs in the short term while also allowing Canterbury to maximise its future economic potential.
He says “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.”
Ashburton District Mayor Neil Brown says the proposal is a step in the right direction making the road a lot safer.
He says just two weeks ago two people lost their lives on that road, near Chertsey, and these types of accidents are happening far too often.
Ashburton District Mayor Neil Brown
He says the Ashburton region is a major food producing area and local companies export their food around the world, and that food needs to get to the port in a safe manner.
Mr Brown says the expressway would help move freight more effectively, as the road is often congested.
The Christchurch to Ashburton Expressway will feature a continuous four-lane state highway (two lanes each way), median barrier separating traffic travelling in opposite directions, new bridges over the Rakaia, Selwyn and Ashburton rivers, wide lanes and sealed shoulders, mainly grade-separated intersections, safe roadsides clear of obstacles, high standard landscaping and environmental controls, high quality signage.
The cost of the project is estimated to be $1.5 billion.
The new 60-kilometre expressway will link the northern end of Ashburton to the Christchurch Southern Motorway extension currently under construction at Rolleston, as well as the Western Corridor to the south west of the city.
Traffic on this road has increased by approximately 2000 vehicles per day since 2014 on the back of a strong primary sector and growth around the inland port at Rolleston, as well as a successful port centrally located in Timaru.
