More traffic restrictions on Dyers Pass Road

Dyers Pass Road will be open to one-way traffic only for a length of time on Saturday 20 March because of Le Race and the ongoing road works.

“To accommodate the work sites and allow those competing in Le Race to safely get over Dyers Pass Road, we will be making the road one-way from the city-side of the hill to Governors Bay between 7am and around 11am,’’ says Christchurch City Council Transport Planning and Delivery Manager Lynette Ellis.

“During that time, people wanting to travel from Governors Bay to the city will need to use Lyttelton Tunnel.’’

Dyers Pass Road currently has a number of active work sites because contractors are widening the road in places and installing three kilometres of guardrail.

“Installing safety barriers sounds like a simple task, but on a steep and narrow road like Dyers Pass it is tricky and there are a number of steps the contractors need to work through before the barriers can be put in place,’’ Ms Ellis says.

“They have to widen some parts of the road. This work starts on the hillside of the road, where the contractors dig out the road shoulder and trim the rock back in places. They then have to create a new drainage channel and seal the new widened shoulder.

“The next step is to move to the other side of the road and start constructing either concrete supports or gabions, which act like a retaining wall and help with drainage. This creates more width for the barrier to be installed, without reducing the available road space.

“Once all that work is done, then they start installing the barriers.

“We are installing the barriers at high-risk locations along Dyers Pass Road to reduce the severity of crashes where vehicles would have left the road, but we do appreciate this work is disruptive.

“The contractors are working night and day to get the work done as quickly as possible. Please, if you’re travelling over Dyers Pass Road, respect the traffic management that is in place and take care passing the work sites because we want to keep everyone safe.

“Remember too that at night the top section of Dyers Pass Road, from the Sign of the Takahe to the Sign of the Kiwi, is closed to traffic between 7pm and 6am so during those hours people will need to take an alternate route,’’ Ms Ellis says.

About $7.2 million is being spent on improving the safety of Dyers Pass Road. Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is meeting three-quarters of the cost as it has included the project in its Safer Network Programme. The Council is providing the balance of the funding.

The work is expected to be finished in June.