Central Queenstown bypass road work begins

Nearly 30 years after it was proposed, the first sod has finally been turned on a town centre bypass road in Queenstown.

Speaking at yesterday's ceremony near the start of the bypass route in Melbourne St, Queenstown Lakes Mayor Jim Boult said the idea was first raised at a district council meeting in 1992.

Its long gestation reminded him of the saying from a well-known cheese ad, "Good things take time".

A $50 million grant for the first stage, the linking and upgrade of Melbourne and Henry Sts, was announced by the Government a year ago.

The road was given fast-tracked consent as a Covid-19 recovery shovel-ready project in April.

Enabling works will begin immediately, with construction expected on September 27.

It will be built in three stages, and ultimately link Melbourne St to the Queenstown-Glenorchy Rd intersection.

Mr Boult said the first stage would reduce traffic on Stanley St and make the town centre more pedestrian-friendly.

"Our little piece of paradise may feel like a construction zone for a while, but think of the end product, and what this will do for us in terms of the ability to get round ... it’s well worth the short-term disruption we’re facing right now."

Mr Boult told the Otago Daily Times the funding for the bypass was "one good thing" to come out of Covid-19.

The council was working on the remaining two stages, with the second "beginning to look more likely", but funding and a timeframe for construction had yet to be determined.

Asked if the bypass was a white elephant in a resort expecting few international visitors in the next couple of years, he said it was the contrary.

"We remain an enormously attractive part of the world to live in and to visit, and we’ve already got transport issues, so why wouldn’t we take advantage of this time to do it?

"Plus, it’s largely being funded by central government, with very little cost to local ratepayers, so it’s very logical to do it now."

The bypass is one of several big-ticket infrastructure projects slated for the resort over the next decade.

Work on a $57 million town centre streetscape project began last year, as did the redevelopment of about four hectares of land at Lakeview, near the Skyline gondola, into residential apartments and retail and hospitality space.

Other projects include a revamp of the Frankton roundabout, a new bridge in Arthur’s Point, a $43 million research and innovation hub in Remarkables Park, a $100 million-plus civic and cultural centre in Ballarat St, and a $25 million public transport hub in Stanley St.

guy.williams@odt.co.nz