Christchurch's Southern Motorway. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Motorists may save up to 49 seconds off their journey on Christchurch's Southern Motorway if a proposal to raise the speed limit goes ahead.
Consultation on a proposal to increase the speed limit on the 15km stretch of State Highways 1 and 76 between Curletts Road and Weedons Road opened on Tuesday.
The road is currently controlled by a 100km/h limit, but last week Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced a proposal to raise that to 110km/h.
A motorist travelling at the current speed limit for its entirety would complete the 15km drive in nine minutes. Travelling at 110km/h would cut that drive to eight minutes and 11 seconds.
"Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the government's plan to rebuild the economy. This proposal supports that outcome by reducing travel times and increasing efficiency on this key South Island freight route," Brown said, in support of the proposal.
The stretch of State Highways 1 and 76 was bounded by areas of natural congestion at certain times.
The government scrapped funding for upgrades at the Brougham Street end of the motorway, but the National Land Transport Programme released Monday said "design and strategic property purchase work" would be completed before 2027.
The programme also said design and property purchase for access improvements to Rolleston would be completed and construction to begin towards the end of the three-year programme.
Waka Kotahi / New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) was inviting people to have their say on raising the speed limit of the Southern Motorway. Regional relationships director James Caygill said the agency was committed to delivering state highways to help people and freight move quickly and safely.
"This section of motorway is designed and constructed to a high safety standard which means we can consider increasing the speed limit. Safety features greatly reduce the risk of death or serious injury in a crash, like two lanes in each direction, flexible median barrier between opposing lanes and a smooth alignment that offers good forward visibility for drivers."
If approved, increasing the limit to 110km/h would require safety improvements, such as installing around six kilometres of side protection barrier from Barrington Street to Halswell Junction Road,.
Consultation closed on 1 October.
"NZTA will consider all feedback received during the consultation process before making a recommendation, which will be reviewed alongside our technical and safety assessments," Caygill said.
The recommendation would then go to the director of Land Transport.
It could take six to 12 months before any new speed limits were in effect.
People could have their say by visiting http://nzta.govt.nz/csm110.