Queenstown's Gorge Rd to close again from Monday

A section of Gorge Road near Queenstown's CBD will close for 11 weeks from Monday as roadworks connected with the first stage of the Arterial Road project continue.

Gorge Road will be closed from Stanley Street to Waver Street until Friday, December 22, the second major shut down of the road in the past year.

In a written update Waka Kotahi and Queenstown Lakes District Council alliance Kā Huanui a Tāhuna says the closure will allow for the rebuilding of the footpath and road and new street lights to go in.

An artist's impression of a revamped Melbourne Street, part of Queenstown's new bypass route (Image: QLDC).

Throughout the closure, traffic will be directed through a two-way detour on Robins Road, with the work scheduled to take place during the day only.

"Because we want to complete this work as quickly and safely as possible before Christmas, unfortunately we’re unable to have one lane open operating under stop/go conditions," the update says.

"Please follow all directions of our crews on the ground, and we appreciate your patience during this time."

The latest phase of the project follows work completed on the same section of road between October 2022 and the middle of this year, when tools went down for the winter season, and the road re-opened.

As it did last year, the road will temporarily reopen for the weekend of the Queenstown Marathon, from 6pm on Friday, November 17, until 6pm, Sunday, November 19.

Despite the closure, residents, emergency services and businesses will still have access via Ballarat Street and Henry Street, with vehicles able to leave using the Gorge Road intersection with Stanley Street, while resident access to Turner Street will remain via Gorge Road from the Arthurs Point end.

The upgrades to Gorge Road are part a grand plan to provide a mini-bypass around the Queenstown CBD, but costs for the first of several stages of the project have already blown out, more than doubling from an original budget to close to $110 million.

Meanwhile Kā Huanui a Tāhuna has also provided an update on its closure of Lake Street, another road being upgraded as part of the bypass project.

It says it is only half-way through the closure and has meet with locals of Fernhill and Sunshine Bay, who have told them the resulting congestion has been challenging, to answer questions and talk through the project. 

This comes after community leaders expressed that alliance members should attend community association meetings and be more communicative and transparent with residents.

Main image: Conetown continues as roading crews prepare to close Gorge Road again - this time for 11 weeks.