A Bypass for Blenheim?

March 2019

The Council recognises there are congestion issues at peak times along Grove Road and Main Street. We're discussing what options could improve traffic flows with the NZ Transport Agency. It could be two lanes in each direction, including through the roundabouts. The new Ōpaoa bridge will help improve traffic flows too.

Research shows there just aren't enough vehicle and truck movements through Blenheim to justify building a bypass around the town, and the cost would be prohibitive. About 11,000 vehicles a day use Main Street east of Park Terrace, but only 2,500 of them travel south of Ward. Just 580 trucks are recorded daily at the Awatere Bridge. In other words, most of our traffic is local, generated from in and around Blenheim. Traffic counters also show there has been very little traffic growth overall since 2007; volumes have remained about the same.

In 2008, NZTA estimated the construction costs were $54m for a short bypass and $102m for a longer one. With changes to environmental, construction and safety standards, NZTA advises it's likely any bypass would now cost in excess of $200m. Eastern Blenheim's land poses major challenges; it is prone to liquefaction and a bypass could require a number of river bridges, which all adds up to engineering design and construction costs. Buying prime grape land is more costly now as land values have increased a lot in recent years.

Blenheim's traffic volumes are relatively low by national standards, so it's unlikely that a bypass would attract funding from the Government's National Land Transport Fund. There are much higher priorities nationally. Therefore a bypass is not supported in this Council's Regional Land Transport Plan.