A widened road as well as new parking bays and pull-over areas are among options being considered for the restoration of the Kaikoura State Highway 1 route in order to accommodate larger trucks in greater volume.
Members of the North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery (NCTIR) alliance, which has been formed to lead the restoration of the earthquake-affected coastal road and rail network, are understood to be in the throes of finalising plans for the project.
At a recent residents’ meeting in Kaikoura, NCTIR head Duncan Gibb reportedly said the aim was to have the coastal road route reinstated by the end of the year. Albeit, he acknowledged this would be a challenging task.
It is understood that some residents in attendance questioned if all alternative options had been fully considered, with it noted that future slips could still impact the reinstated road and that catering for increased trucking volumes would negatively impact the tourist experience.
In this vein, a viewpoint was reportedly expressed that future consideration could be given to using shipping services over road or rail for non-urgent and non-perishable goods, in order to lessen greenhouse gas emissions, noise and “perceived intimidation” of increased trucking.