"We're halfway in terms of volume - we're at 400,000sq m of fill in place now and we've got 400,000sq m to go," Queenstown Airport Corporation (QAC) chief executive Steve Sanderson said yesterday.
The bench for the proposed eastern access road linking the Remarkables Park town centre to the Glenda Dr area will be formed by QAC as part of the second half of the Resa project.
Further funding would be needed before the access road was connected to the highway, Mr Sanderson said.
Funding would come from the district council, New Zealand Transport Agency and any other parties wanting to contribute, he said.
The road could be open to traffic in 12 months to two years.
Building the 45m high Resa started in February and the structure is expected to be completed by the end of May next year, five months before the deadline set by the Civil Aviation Authority for Queenstown Airport to continue catering for international flights.
"It's been relatively straightforward - it's just an earth fill, with compaction the only challenge," Mr Sanderson said.
"We've had a particularly wet winter and some of the silt we had to let dry before we placed it.
"Now, we're into summer - and it looks like it's setting up for a long, dry summer - we will be lifting the rate to do 80,000cu m a month."
About 320,000cu m of material for the first half of the Resa was trucked from Remarkables Park and the remainder came from the Shotover delta. Gravel and silt was compacted on site using rollers and placed using computerised equipment and GPS for accuracy.
About 15 Fulton Hogan contractors are working nine-hour shifts, six days a week.
The second half of the material needed for the Resa will also be trucked from the park and the delta.
Mr Sanderson said there had not been any disruption to flights during construction.
Mr Sanderson said the Resa "is essential for us to maintain international flights and that's critical for jobs and the economic growth of Queenstown."
