Trail takes shape through Kawarau Gorge

Motorists travelling between Queenstown and Cromwell on State Highway 6 can see a new track taking shape to one side of the road, but it won't be open for use until a longer route is ready to go.

The New Zealand Transport Agency has crews working around the precarious Nevis Bluff to deliver its promised part of the new Kawarau Gorge Trail.

NZTA senior project manager Simon Underwood says the area in question is sandwiched between the highway and the Kawarau River, where there are steep cliffs above and below.

NZTA contractors are working in a new section of bike trail sandwiched between State Highway 6 and the Kawarau River (Image: Supplied/NZTA).

Although the close to 30-kilometre route that will bridge the gap between the growing trails networks in Queenstown and Central Otago is being spearheaded by the Southern Lakes Trails Trust, NZTA is committed to delivering this section.

Mr Underwood says NZTA's component will cost $2.4 million.

So, how will the trail, designed for use by pedestrians and cyclists, navigate the highway?

"On the Gibbston side, it will stay on the river side," Mr Underwood says.

"The existing crossing will remain, for access to Gibbston Back Road, but trail users won’t need to cross the highway to follow the trail. On the Victoria Flats side, the trail will need to cross the highway, once clear of the bluffs as the highway levels and at a point of safe visibility."

He says initial planning did give consideration to an underpass on the Victoria Flats side of the bluff, however it required a retaining wall that added to the proposal being cost prohibitive.

"The cost of both would have exceeded $2 million, more than the envelope for 'Low Cost Low Risk' project, that is, up to $2 million for projects like this, under the previous government’s policy statement on land transport.

"An alternative design for a more straightforward underpass, which does not include a retaining wall, is being worked on currently, however funding is for future consideration."

Elsewhere, the trail will cross the Kawarau River twice, thanks to two suspension bridges.

Meanwhile, access to the NZTA-commissioned section of track will rely on project progress downstream.

"It won’t be fully available until the wider trail works through the Kawarau Gorge are completed," Mr Underwood says.

In his last update, Southern Lakes Trails Trust chair Aaron Halstead said the wider project was "well on target for an opening in the summer of 2025". 

Main image: A digger carves out a track on a cliff face above the Kawarau River, as viewed from State Highway 6.

Note, this story was updated on Friday, November 1, with additional information on the option of an underpass.