The State Highway 75 and Perymans Rd junction in Tai Tapu will be closed to traffic and a 500m stretch of shingle road on Perymans will be sealed at a cost of $330,000.
Residents want the road sealed to reduce the dust but do not want the intersection to close.
The council has maintained that if the road is sealed, the intersection must be closed to reduce the risk of crashes.
The intersection was set to close in 2003 and 2013 and again in May this year but did not. But now the Selwyn District Council's transport and infrastructure committee has decided to close the intersection, regardless of its decision to seal the road as part of the 2021/22 Annual Plan.
At the Tai Tapu Community Association’s meeting on Wednesday last week, the decision to close the road was discussed. The association is unhappy about the decision, but it will not continue to fight the closure.
When it was up for closure in May, association spokesperson and road user John Ryan threatened legal action if district council staff did not produce a more detailed report on the forecasted closure and provide evidence for doing it.
With the intersection closed it will likely only serve as access for the one resident who lives on the corner and access for farmers.
Ryan does not see the point in closing the road.
“Sealing the road and closing it to through traffic is an absolute contradiction and a waste of $330,000 of ratepayers money,” he said.
“The Tai Tapu residents are only hanging in on the basis that the decision has already been made and at least it will be sealed.”
The four options presented to the committee were to close the intersection at a cost of $330,000, left turn out only ($340,000), left in and left out ($440,000), and leave the intersection open ($375,000).
Selwyn Deputy Mayor Malcolm Lyall conceded the process was somewhat backwards, with the decision to seal the road preceding the closure decision.
“I know the preference from the road safety team is that if you seal it might get more use then create more problems.”
Since the May decision, council staff have produced a new report, which included an independent systems safety audit by transport engineering firm, Abley. The audit concluded closing the intersection would be the safest option.
Abley recommended not to install a shared pathway for walkers and cyclists due to risks with the SH75 bridge, which has no pedestrian pathway.
Council staff said they would take on the advice and discontinue the shared pathway.
Access for farmers was the main sticking point for some councillors. While most equipment can fit over the smaller Ryans bridge on Lincoln Tai Tapu Rd, some are too large.
Councillors Lydia Gliddon, Shane Epia and Elizabeth Mundt did not vote for the closure, as there were no documented plans for an access route for farmers. Instead, they wanted a left turn out only.
Council staff said they would look at developing a traffic management plan in which farmers could access the road by potentially climbing a curb.
The road closure and sealing are due to happen over summer.
