Mr Darby, a photographer, said he had major concerns about the position of power poles erected next to the crash-prone highway between Wanaka and Queenstown.
The poles are being put up by contractors Delta Electricity as part of a $2.5 million lines upgrade in the valley.
Dunedin-based electricity distribution network company, Aurora, owns the lines, poles and substations that supply power to more than 80,500 homes and businesses throughout Dunedin and Central Otago.
It gained resource consent to upgrade the lines and erect the new power poles last September.
A total of 191 poles have been replaced along an 18km stretch of Cardrona Valley Rd.
Mr Darby said the close proximity of the poles to the road could have potentially fatal consequences for any motorists who lost control of their vehicles.
Accidents frequently happened on Cardrona Valley Rd, especially during winter when shade caused icy conditions on the busy road, he said.
Mr Darby uses the road to travel to and from Queenstown about three times a week and said the poles were "deathtraps".
"Any encroachment of such a solid object on the road shoulder has the potential to change a small accident into a lethal one," he said.
Aurora Energy chief executive Grady Cameron said yesterday in a written response to questions, the new poles were positioned close to or actually in the original pole positions.
The original positions were considered the most appropriate place for the new poles.
In one section, the line deviated from a kink originally put in to avoid trees. Those trees have since been removed and the line is now straight, he said.
The New Zealand Transport Authority had clear zones and guidelines for how close power poles could be erected to roads and these were used where practicable, Mr Cameron said.
"Aurora does not have the right to put new lines in private property, hence the need to access road reserve," he said.
Safety barriers will be erected in some places.
"The safety of the public is something that Aurora Energy takes extremely seriously," Mr Cameron said.
Cardrona Valley Rd-Crown Range pass is maintained by the Queenstown Lakes District Council.
