[ad_1]
Tires can finally hit the tarmac on Christchurch’s long-awaited $ 290 million Northern Corridor Highway.
The New Zealand Transportation Agency (NZTA) will partially open the 10-kilometer-long highway on Monday to help settle the chip seal surface before all four lanes open in mid-December.
One lane of traffic in each direction will be open from Monday through December 11.
It will be open to northbound traffic between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., and to southbound traffic between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
READ MORE:
* Month of major delays likely for morning commuters in Christchurch
* Car pool lane to be added to North Canterbury’s Tram Rd entrance ramp
* Chaneys on-ramp to State Highway 1 to close for drainage works
A spokesperson for the Christchurch City Council said that due to loose gravel still on the highway, a temporary speed limit of 50km / h would be set, but could increase to 70km / h depending on road conditions.
The lanes will change during the day so that traffic accumulates in all four lanes, they said.
NZTA / Supplied
The Christchurch North Corridor will partially open on November 30.
On December 12, NZTA is planning an open house where people will be able to walk or bike on the highway.
Following the open house, the road will be closed to allow for the finishing touches to be completed before its full opening on December 17.
The northern corridor extends the North Christchurch Expressway to QEII Drive and Cranford St, and is designed to shorten travel times in and out of Christchurch.
It cost $ 290 million to build and was originally due to open in mid-2020.
NZTA blamed the delays on additional work that had been added to the project and longer-than-expected settlement times for poor terrain.
NZTA / Supplied
The light display on the Belfast Bridge, part of the new Christchurch North Corridor.
The project has struggled with poor ground conditions from the beginning.
The sunken foundations of a bridge over QEII Drive had to be rebuilt, including removing the ramps leading to the bridge so that 445 steel piles could be placed to stabilize the soft ground.
The latest delay gave Christchurch City Council more time to complete the controversial improvements to Cranford St and prepare for additional freeway traffic. It is expected to transport 42,000 vehicles a day by 2026.
The project was originally expected to cost $ 240 million, but the budget was raised to $ 290 million to add another southbound lane and a clip-on bike path for the Waimakariri Bridge, an extension of bike path from Empire Rd to Tram Rd, and for additional labor and labor. to prepare carpool lanes.
Construction began in October 2016, but the project has been talked about since the 1960s.
