Features of the 40kmh, 1.1km road, which comes with a $128.02 million price tag, include three sets of traffic lights (at the intersection with Frankton Rd, at the Sydney-Melbourne St intersection, and at Henry St-Gorge Rd), multiple benches (each of which cost $7500 + GST), 19 etched precast concrete panels, created in conjunction with mana whenua via Aukaha to depict Ngai Tahu narratives and values into the artworks ($395,236), and a median barrier.
On Thursday morning, mana whenua from the seven Runaka who have tribal authority in the inland territory were present for a whakawaatea, led by Paulette Tamati-Elliffe and her whanau - that’s a cultural practice ceremony to clear a space, and acknowledge "the hard work, the difficulties, and the interruptions that have occurred during the project".
Those attending the blessing included Kai Tahu artists Jennifer Rendall, James York and Marlon Williams, under the design lead of Aukaha’s Keri Whaitiri, Southland MP Joseph Mooney, National Infrastructure (NI) funding and financing (formerly Crown Infrastructure Partners) CEO Graham Mitchell, and NI’s infrastructure delivery programme manager Shelley Lye, NZ Transport Agency’s regional partnerships director James Caygill and Queenstown councillors.
Council commercial and procurement manager Geoff Mayman said the road is opening in stages "from the bottom up" to Frankton Rd.
Queenstown mayor Glyn Lewers said while there’s "a little bit more to do" around the pavements, he’s "quietly pleased that it’s happened and it’s open".
"It’s one of those major milestones we’ve ticked off and when [former Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop] was down here, he could honestly say we were one of the very few districts that have delivered on the Crown infrastructure package we were given.
"It’s taken a little bit longer than we’d hoped, but, again, the proof will be in the pudding once everybody starts using it."
Mayman said by the end of this first quarter of this year "we should be in a really good place", with the main alignment and side streets operating.
"That’s a really big milestone to allow the benefits to flood into town."
Lewers: "You might even look at the middle of the year and [see] no [road] cones."
