Passing lane and overtaking opportunities

The top of the South Island generally has rugged terrain, with winding roads resulting in poor sight distances and little flat land on either side of the state highways. The region’s state highway network crosses many streams and rivers where bridge and culvert structures restrict opportunities for the carriageway (lanes and sealed shoulder) to be widened.

An objective of the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) is to provide a transport network that connects New Zealand’s strategic locations and enables activities supporting New Zealand’s long-term economic and social well-being. To improve the safety and efficiency of New Zealand’s state highway network, the Transport Agency has developed a passing and overtaking policy.

Several studies have been undertaken to determine the need for passing lane and overtaking opportunity improvements on the rural state highways in the Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough regions (top of the south). ViaStrada has been engaged to assess the recommendations of the previous studies and identify any additional locations where it may be possible to create passing opportunities without significant capital expense.