Waimakariri District Council on Tuesday confirmed the preferred route for the Rangiora Eastern Link road.
The planned new arterial road, will follow the ‘West Route’ and start from Spark Lane, cut through farmland and council-owned land to Boys Rd and on to Marsh Rd to the west of the wastewater ponds, before connecting with Lineside Rd via a new dual lane roundabout.
A new arterial road has been on the council’s radar since the 2000s, but its completion was critical now due to planned growth to the east of Rangiora and the current congestion of 26,000 vehicle movements through Southbrook each day.
The new link road is expected to cost around $35 million to build, with $17.5m budgeted to be funded by the New Zealand Transport Agency. The next stage to develop the concept design will provide a more accurate cost estimate.
Development contributions are scheduled to pay for 50 percent, with ratepayers proposed to pay 25%, with NZ Transport Agency co-funding the balance.
NZ Transport Agency provided funding for the business case and concept design in 2024, and this will underpin the bid for construction funding to be included in the next National Land Transport Plan in 2027.
Mayor Dan Gordon said, “The Rangiora Eastern Link will reduce congestion through Southbrook, provide an alternate link to State Highway 1, and further enable housing and business growth to the east of Rangiora — which is anticipated in our District Plan.”
“As one of the country’s growth districts, Waimakariri needs this road and Rangiora residents cannot wait any longer. Today we’re dealing with 26,000 vehicle movements through Southbrook daily and this will only grow. We need to show a vision and plan and invest in a District that has a high quality of life.
“We advocated strongly to get to this point. Last year we hosted both the Transport Minister at the time Simeon Brown and NZTA Chair Simon Bridges to show them firsthand the transport needs in Waimakariri. We know we’re being heard through the significant Government investment with Woodend Bypass. Our next steps will be continuing to advocate for funding towards the Rangiora Eastern Link.”
The proposed arterial route has been planned since the 2001 Rangiora Transport Study and included in key planning documents such as the Canterbury Regional Land Transport Plan, Long Term Plan, and Proposed District Plan.
The congestion in Southbrook will only get worse as the town grows, and the work to date has shown the savings in travel time and vehicle operating costs are over four times the cost of the project, while also improving safety and linking to the new growth areas in East Rangiora.
“We know there was support for this project from NZ Transport Agency to fund the investigation of this route, and now we’ve shown it can be done we move into the next phase which is design planning and applying for construction funding,” says Mayor Dan.
“This project, as well as a replacement of Skew Bridge in West Kaiapoi, are our main priorities when advocating NZ Transport Agency (Waka Kotahi) for joint funding and we will continue to work towards delivering these projects with them.”