The Press FRIDAY, MAY 19, 1961. Northern Motorway

Press, Volume C, Issue 29517, 19 May 1961, Page 10

The Press FRIDAY, MAY 19, 1961. Northern Motorway

Though it will probably be the best part of 10 years before traffic on the north road obtains substantial relief, it is satisfactory that the National Roads Board has authorised construction of a new northern motorway for Christchurch and has laid down an approximate route for the section beyond Christchurch. These decisions will place the job on the construction schedule and permit a start on the extensive detailed surveys that have yet to be made. Only the first stage of the several stages in the scheme has been authorised. The section from the heart of Christchurch to Chaney’s corner is not ut the first stage; the route of this section is still indefinite and will be the subject of more discussions between the Roads Board, the City Council and the Regional Planning Authority. No construction on this part of the route appears to be contemplated before 1969 at the earliest. Egress from and access to Christchurch will be improved in the meantime by widening the existing State highway from Cranford street to Chaney’s corner to four lanes. From Chaney’s corner the first part of the new highway will be laid west of the present main highway to just north of Kaiapoi. According to the assistant Director of Reading (Mr A. S. Begg) this part will at first be a twolane highway; and it will be widened later to four lanes. A two-lane bridge will be put across the Waimakariri river on the new route, upstream from the present road and rail bridges. When the highway is widened to four lanes the bridge will be widened accordingly. From just north of Kaiapoi the new road will continue as a two-lane motorway, running west of the present main road, as far as State highway No. 72 (the road from Woodend to Rangiora). The extension

of the motorway beyond this point to the Ashley river seems to be relegated to post-1969 planning. The approximate route that has been chosen will not please everyone, as the recent controversy on the subject plainly indicates. When the engineers get down to detailed planning many more controversial points are certain to arise. It is to be hoped that good farm land will be spared as far as practicable; there will also be access problems for many land-owners. But difficulties are bound to be met in such a project, which is, indeed, a new departure for Canterbury. This is the first highway to be built in Canterbury through areas with longestablished roading patterns. The chief object of the motorway is to provide a rapid, unimpeded flow of long-distance traffic; a second object is to ease traffic on other roads in the area which will normally be used for slower, shorter journeys. It is not to be expected that the motorway can be built to serve its purpose without creating other problems, foreseen and unforeseen. Satisfaction with the decision to construct the motorway will be tempered by the thought that its full execution lies in the relatively distant future. There is no doubt about the need for better road access to and from the north of Christchurch. Present traffic density between Chaney’s corner and Kaiapoi is between 5000 and 6000 vehicles an hour on week-days and double that at week-ends. On| present estimates this den-, sity will be almost doubled by the time the first stage of the motorway is completed in 1969. It is certainly one of the many desirable projects which should be on the list for consideration as soon as the national economy permits a more liberal view of public works programmes.