Shelter finishing touch for upgrade

It has stood up to driving rain and mountains of snow but it is now gone, set to be replaced by something new and improved.

The final piece of work to improve safety in and around the Homer Tunnel has started.

The tunnel — the entrance to Milford Sound — has been getting safety improvements over the past two years.

Much of the old avalanche shelter on the Te Anau side of the State Highway94 entrance to the tunnel has been knocked down.

It will be replaced by the new government-funded $29million project’s avalanche and rockfall shelter, a 45m extension of the Homer Tunnel itself, designed for portable, modular, quick installation.

Waka Kotahi said in a statement the old structure had reached the end of its useful life.

More than 150 pre-cast concrete units were being made in Ashburton and would be transported to the site over the coming months, the agency said.

Work was set to be completed in May next year.

An upgraded tunnel power and lighting system, as well as new speakers inside the tunnel to communicate with people in an emergency, had been installed in recent years.

A new protected duct had been built along the 1.2km length of the tunnel to protect cabling, fibre and other systems during a fire.

An extra lane had been built at the eastern tunnel traffic signal — back towards the tunnel control building — for better management of traffic during winter, and more sophisticated in-tunnel vehicle detection systems had been installed, the agency said.

There was also a new, safer viewing area for visitors, a plant and equipment building near the tunnel, upgraded power supply and an upgraded solar-powered communications tower.