On this page
The Christchurch Northern Corridor is a combined contract to build these related projects as one:
The Transport Agency’s Christchurch Northern Corridor Project – a new four-laning motorway from just south of the Waimakariri River, bypassing Belfast and Redwood to the east and connecting with QEII Drive near Winters Road.
The CCC’s Christchurch Northern Corridor Extension project – a four lane link from QEII Drive to Cranford St
The CCC’s Cranford St Upgrade project – the four laning along Cranford St to Innes Road.
The CNC project also includes; an upgrade of QEII Drive to four lanes between Main North Road and Innes Road which will reducing congestion and delays for traffic travelling to the port, the addition of a third northbound lane on the Waimakariri Motorway Bridge through to Tram Road, off-road pedestrian and cycle facilities linking to existing and new cycle facilities in the area and improved drainage infrastructure.
Main North Road (State Highway 74) passes through Belfast and Redwood and provides the main access to the Christchurch City Centre and Lyttelton Port from the north (via QEII Drive). The large volumes of local and through traffic travelling along Main North Road is creating and experiencing significant congestion - reducing safety and efficiency for people using this vital road. Even though substantial efforts are being made to reduce congestion by changing behaviours, congestion is still going to increase as residential and business development continues in the north.
This project will improve safety and reduce congestion for all road users on this vital transport corridor. It will also enable improvements to public transport, walking and cycling and local access.
An efficient and reliable transport network into, out of and across Greater Christchurch is important to the social, economic and environmental future of the City and the South Island. Efficient transport links to Lyttelton Port are also critical for supporting New Zealand trade.
The detailed design for Cranford Street will be completed in mid-2017 and Construction is likely to begin in late 2017. Construction will start will the relocation of services (power, water, and telecommunications).
Work on QEII Drive will start in late 2017; we will begin with the construction of the double roundabouts and the new eastbound lanes (on the north side of QEII Drive).
It will take four years to build. We expect the motorway to be open in mid-2020.
The construction of the project is expected to cost $235 million.
The Christchurch Northern Corridor project is about 12km long from the Waimakariri River to the Cranford/Innes Intersection plus another 4km for the QEII Drive four-laning.
Yes, with commuter and freight traffic using the Christchurch Northern Corridor, traffic volumes on Main North Road and Marshland Road will drop significantly. This will reduce congestion, improve travel times for all road users and improve amenity for local residents. It will also assist in making these roads safer for all users including cyclists and pedestrians.
Our traffic modelling shows that by 2026 the number of vehicles on Main North Road (Redwood) per day will be 42,000 if the Christchurch Northern Corridor is not built and 24,000 if it is built. Traffic volumes on this road in 2015 were 35,000, a result of changes in travel patterns since the earthquakes.
There were 15,000 vehicles a day on Marshland Road in 2015, by 2026 there would be 29,000 vehicles a day if the Christchurch Northern Corridor is not built or 18,000 if the Christchurch Northern Corridor is built.
By 2026 42,000 vehicles a day will use the Waimakariri to QEII section of the Christchurch Northern Corridor.
(This modelling is based on post-earthquake traffic flows and updated development and growth predictions, and assumes the Western Belfast Bypass, another NZ Transport Agency Roads of National Significance project, is built. By 2026 the Western Belfast Bypass will carry 24,000 vehicles a day.)
Once the Christchurch Northern Corridor project is completed, control of Main North Road will be handed to CCC. As the construction of the Christchurch Northern Corridor will result in significantly reduced traffic volumes on Main North Road, there is an opportunity for CCC to make changes to Main North Road which will further enhance public transport provision along the route, extending bus lanes, and making changes to intersection configurations. These changes will result in improved public transport journey times along Main North Road which is likely to make public transport becomes more attractive.
A shared off-road pedestrian and cycle path will be constructed parallel to the Christchurch Northern Corridor, between Cranford Street and Empire Road. It will connect with QEII Drive, Grimseys, Prestons and Radcliffe Roads as well as Owen Mitchell Park and the future ‘Source to Sea’ pedestrian and cycle path along the Styx River. An on-road cycle lane will be included on Cranford Street as well as a new link to the Papanui Parallel cycle path.
The shared pedestrian/cycle path will provide safe travel between Belfast, Redwood and areas zoned for future urban growth in Eastern Belfast. From Empire Road cyclist will be able to use Main North Road to get over the Waimakariri River. Cycle facilities on QEII Drive will remain and will be extended to connect with Grimseys Road as part of the QEII Drive four-laning. The Christchurch Northern Corridor will also significantly reduce traffic on Main North Road and Marshland Road making them safer and more appealing for cyclists and pedestrians.
Local councils are looking into options for improving cycle connections to and from North Canterbury including improved facilities to across the Waimakariri River. The Christchurch Northern Corridor cycle/pedestrian path will be linked into this network once confirmed.
In order to connect the Christchurch Northern Corridor to the existing Northern Motorway some changes are required:
The existing Chaneys on-ramp will be removed, meaning there will be no access at this point onto the Christchurch Northern Corridor. Access will be provided further west by using Main North Road.
Traffic heading south on the Northern Motorway will veer left onto the Christchurch Northern Corridor.
Traffic heading north on the Christchurch Northern Corridor will go under the Northern Motorway’s southbound lanes to merge with the Northern Motorway’s northbound lane.
An additional northbound lane is required on the existing Waimakariri River Bridge to provide for safe and efficient traffic merging from the Western Belfast Bypass, Main North Road and the Christchurch Northern Corridor. The three lanes northbound will be extended through to Tram Road.
The Christchurch Northern Corridor will connect at QEII Drive with a 'grade-separated' interchange. The Christchurch Northern Corridor will go over the top of QEII Drive on a bridge. Under the overbridge there will be on and off-ramps and two connected roundabouts that will make access in all directions possible. (This interchange will be similar to the recently completed Southern Motorway /Curletts Road interchange.)
The north/south priority (Christchurch Northern Corridor over QEII Drive) was chosen as it is a less complicated layout for users and provides the best traffic performance for through traffic into the City. It does not require as much land, it uses the existing alignment of QEII Drive and it keeps the Christchurch Northern Corridor further away from adjacent housing than other options that were considered.
The Christchurch Northern Corridor will then go through Cranford Basin and connect into Cranford Street via a new roundabout.
The Christchurch Northern Corridor will go over QEII Drive on a bridge and full access will be possible to QEII Drive via on and off ramps and roundabouts below the bridge (similar to the Southern Motorway/Curletts Road interchanges).
Full access will be provided between Winters Road west and the QEII Drive roundabouts.
South facing on an off ramps at Belfast Road will allow northbound traffic to exit at Belfast Road and access for traffic wishing to head south on the Christchurch Northern Corridor.
Just south of the Waimakariri Bridge southbound Northern Motorway driver will have the choice of veering left onto the Christchurch Northern Corridor or continuing on SH1 via the Western Belfast Bypass or exiting onto Main North Road.
Most of the Christchurch Northern Corridor will be constructed at or near ground level. Flyovers will be constructed so local roads can go over the Christchurch Northern Corridor (Belfast Road, Radcliffe Road and Prestons Road). These overpasses will be about six to eight metres high.
The Christchurch Northern Corridor will be elevated six to eight metres above surrounding ground level, at the northern end of the alignment, to pass over the Main North Railway line and Main North Road, it will also be elevated at the southern end for the QEII Drive interchange.
Low-noise asphalt will be used along the majority of the new motorway. This is a quieter surface than the chipseal used on many roads. Noise reducing earth bunds and fences will also be used in the semi-rural areas near housing. These will be similar to the bunds and fences near the QEII Drive/Innes Road intersection. Concrete barriers will also be used on the project bridges.
It is believed that these mitigations will keep changes in noise levels due to the new sections of road to an acceptable level. However, testing has been done to measure noise levels in the area before any changes are made and these recordings will be used as a base line as the project advances. The NZ Standard for Road traffic noise – new and altered roads (NZS 6806:2010) are being used.
The Christchurch Northern Corridor Alliance team will develop a program to reduce/limit construction noise as much as possible before construction gets underway and we will keep local people informed when construction noise is likely.
The speed limit on the Christchurch Northern Corridor will be 100km/h between the Waimakariri River and QEII Drive. It will reduce to 80km/h at the interchange with QEII Drive. The speed limit on QEII Drive will remain at 80km/h. Landscaping and urban design elements such as median and shoulder widths will be varied to slow traffic where the speed limit reduces to 80km/h. The speed through the Cranford basin section will reduce from 80km/h to 60km/h. The speed limits will not change on the Cranford Street section of the project.
Upgrading Marshland Road was investigated and dismissed due to:
unfavourable ground conditions meaning that widening and upgrading the road would require significant ground improvement and future maintenance costs
the large number of existing property accesses on to Marshland Road would limit the potential to develop a high volume, high speed arterial road. Plans for significant future developments adjoining this route would also require access to Marshland Road further reducing its functionality.
The Belfast Area Plan (external link) is a long-term plan to encourage and manage growth and development in the Belfast area.
The Christchurch Northern Corridor project is a key part of the Belfast Area Plan - as it will reduce traffic congestion and improve safety on Main North Road making the infrastructure and transport objectives of the Belfast Area Plan possible including:
significant reductions in commuter and port related traffic through Belfast
improving safety and amenity on Main North Road and improving public transport, walking and cycling
providing sufficient capacity on the local road network to allow for the proposed urban development.
The exact order of construction is not yet finalised, but the Winters Road subway, the Belfast Road Bridge and Guthreys Road diversion are the first projects to get underway. A working platform (.5m layer of compacted earth and stone) is being laid along road alignment. This will allow work to continue in the winter months. The work program will be finalised by mid-2017.
The Christchurch City Council is working on plans to ensure traffic can easily continue along Cranford Street on the city-side of the Innes Road intersection. Some initial investigations have already been done and more in-depth investigations and traffic modelling on the effects and solutions needed south-east of Cranford Street are under way. Public engagement will be part of this ongoing investigation.
The barrier along Cranford Street had several functions; it will prevent front on collisions, reduce turning movement at intersections (thereby reducing hold ups) and stop commuters using suburban streets as rat-runs or shortcuts. While this may mean the people who live in these areas have to drive a little farther to get home, the barriers will improve safety and quality of life for people living in these side streets by greatly reducing traffic.
The upgrade of the Cranford Basin into an improved storm-water retention area and possible new forested wetland area is a separate project. Work on the improved storm-water retention area will start in mid-2017 and take about six month to complete. Turning this area into a forested wetland area with public walkways and other facilities is a possible future Christchurch City Council project that will need public support to gain funding through the council’s planning processes.
See the consultation section on the Project background tab.
A northbound lane is being added to the Waimakariri Bridge to help with the merge of five lanes of traffic from Main North Road, the Western Belfast Bypass and Christchurch Northern Corridor at the start of the Northern Motorway.
The Transport Agency is also investigating building a third southbound lane on the Waimakariri Bridge to help ease congestion in the morning, and adding a separated cycle lane on the bridge. If this project is approved by the Transport Agency’s Board in June, it may be built as part of the Christchurch Northern Corridor construction.
This new section of motorway may attract some traffic that may otherwise have used Marshland Road or Papanui Road but the vast majority of traffic entering Cranford St or QEII Drive from the new Christchurch Northern Corridor would have travelled this way anyway; but they would have travelled via Main North Road.
raffic growth due to businesses and residential growth in Christchurch and Canterbury will cause traffic to increase on all main roads including both Cranford St and QEII Drive over the next decade regardless of this project. However, because of the changes on Cranford St and QEII Drive these roads will be able to cope with this extra traffic.
The Christchurch City Council has further improvements to Cranford Street from Innes Road to the CBD in their long term plan and this will reduce congestion and rat-running in the rest of St Albans and Edgware
When a structure or embankment is built on soft ground, the load on the soft soil is initially partially supported by the incompressible water in the soil. Over time water slowly drains out from under the load, the load is then transferred to the soil, the soil consolidates and settlement occurs. The process of settlement takes a long time.
To reduce the settlement time a temporary extra fill load (stone and gravel) is put on the site called preload. The time required for this preload to achieve the required compression can be shortened by installing wick drains. The drains give the water a shorter drainage path and allow for the consolidation to take place in months instead of years.
Wick drains are made of synthetic band-shaped material that is installed vertically into soft ground. The drains are around 10cm wide by 5mm thick consisting of a corrugated plastic strip wrapped in a filter fabric.
