Works are starting on the Water Tank Slip Site on Kenepuru Road next week and are due to be complete by Christmas. Photo: Supplied / Marlborough District Council
The first section of Kenepuru Road in the Marlborough Sounds will reopen to the public on Monday, with work to begin at the largest remaining slip site in the hope it can reopen in full by Christmas.
The road has been closed to non-residents for more than two years after it was damaged in a series of storms - first in July 2021 and then again in August 2022 - with its use restricted since then to residents, emergency and essential services only.
Marlborough Roads manager Steve Murrin said the first 20km of Kenepuru Road, up to Onahau Road and including side roads, would reopen to the public on 23 September.
He said it was a significant milestone for residents and the many accommodation businesses in that stretch whose guests had been unable to travel in by road since August 2022.
Since July 2021, about $20 million has been spent on storm repairs on Kenepuru Road.
Murrin said in order for the rest of the road to re-open to the public, repairs at the water tank slip site needed to be completed which included the construction of a 98m retaining wall, drainage improvements and road reinstatement.
"That's really the only critical site we have got to repair so that we can get the truck and trailers back in there to service the farms so it is really important we get that done as soon as possible and we are aiming to have it done prior to Christmas."
Due to the road's narrow width, there would be daytime road closures while the works were completed.
"Until we get all the road repairs done these truck and trailer units will probably need to be piloted in and out and it is probably going to be two to three years before we get the whole programme of works done and we are able to open the road as it was prior to these storm events."
Murrin said once pile and anchor installations were complete, the closures would be reviewed and reduced where possible.
There will still be weight and length restrictions on vehicles - six tonnes and 12.6 metres.
The partial road reopening comes after Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency confirmed a further $100m in funding for the Marlborough Sounds road repairs, earlier this month.
The Marlborough District Council made an application to the NZTA board for $141.4m, of which it agreed to fund 71 percent, or $100.4m.
That funding was in addition to the $130m already allocated in Phases One and Two. The funding would be used to address more than 1500 outstanding faults that remained on the road network and needed repairs.
Mayor Nadine Taylor said the council's priority was to re-open Kenepuru Road to public access and allow trucks through.
"We know the Kenepuru community has been waiting for a long time for this certainty. Because of the cost of the repairs, we needed the NZTA funding confirmed to proceed with confidence to get the work done and let residents and businesses in the area to get back to normal."
On Monday, the speed limit on Kenepuru Road would also be reduced from 100 kilometres per hour to 60 km/h as part of the Marlborough Speed Management Plan.
There would be further reductions in speed limits around the more populated areas along the road, such as around the Portage area, where the speed would reduce to 40km/h.