Blessing marks start of Sumner Rd work

A multi-million dollar project to get Sumner Rd re-opened has moved into a new phase.

Sumner Rd, from Evans Pass to Lyttelton, has been closed since the February 2011 earthquake due to the extent of the damage to the road and the high risk of further rock falls, cliffs collapsing and landslides.

Today the re-opening of the road moved a step closer with a blessing and tree planting to mark the start of geotechnical risk mitigation work around Crater Rim Bluffs, at the top of Sumner Rd.

A blessing by Rapaki Marae representative Kopa Lee marks the start of a new phase of work on Sumner Rd.

The work will be carried out by McConnell Dowell, in partnership with Beca, Doug Hood Mining and Geovert and will be jointly funded by Christchurch City Council and the NZ Transport Agency as the first stage of a phased project to re-open Sumner Rd.

The work will include scaling the upper reaches of the Crater Rim Bluffs to remove unstable rock and creating a 400-metre long, 15 metre wide catch bench at the base of the bluffs to protect the road below from rockfall.

A rock bund will also be constructed in Double Gully to the west of Crater Rim Bluffs to capture rockfalls from the Bluffs.  The bund will be several metres high and 50-metres long and covered with basalt cobbles to reflect the basalt stone walls in the area.

To minimise environmental impacts and reduce cost, the existing road will be used as a ‘haul road’ for transporting excess rock from the excavation of the bench, and structural works will be completed under the existing road. Using the existing road rather than constructing a separate haul road also makes a start on the repair work required to return the road to two-lane use.

Once the geotechnical risk mitigation work is completed, the next stage of the work – investigating the extent of the damage to the retaining walls - will begin. The road will then be repaired and reinstated. At this stage it is expected the road will re-open in 2018.

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel said the reopening of Sumner Rd would play a crucial role in the region’s earthquake recovery and exemplified the commitment to building the city's resilience.

“Sumner Rd is such an important place to Cantabrians – economically as the link between Lyttelton Port and the city, as the connection between Lyttelton and Sumner communities, and also as a hugely popular recreational space with tourists and cyclists. It’s really exciting to be heading into this phase of work and to see us closer to being able to travel this road once again,’’ Mayor Dalziel said.

NZ Transport Agency Southern Regional Director Jim Harland said with the geotechnical work starting the community would start to see great progress in getting Sumner Rd re-opened.

“This is a lifeline route for Christchurch and so critical in supporting the economic wellbeing of not only Canterbury but the whole South Island. This is recognised by the Transport Agency’s 83 per cent funding of the work as part of the earthquake recovery programme.’’

Mr Harland said the reopening of Sumner Rd would help in limiting night-time closures of Lyttelton Tunnel and provide better access for the harbourside community.

Find out more about the Sumner Lyttelton Corridor.