Roadworks at the Queenstown end of Frankton Road are causing headaches for hoteliers and their guests.
The $86.5 million first stage of the town centre arterial road project, being overseen by
Queenstown’s council and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency alliance, Ka Huanui a Tahuna,
started in earnest earlier this year.
Work is presently focused on the stretch of road between the Millennium and Copthorne
hotels where underground utilities are being upgraded.
Once that’s done, Frankton Rd will be widened, and a new intersection with Melbourne
Street will be built.
That’s expected to take till late next year.
However the work’s already causing issues for accommodation providers in the area, who’ve been battling for business for more than two years.
Queenstown Motel Apartments manager Deepanshu Sajjan says the roadworks are right in front of his motel, and access is blocked by a ‘‘fencing line’’.
Guest feedback is ‘‘not very good’’, he says.
‘‘I’m getting regular feedback that due to roadworks it’s very hard to get in.’’
Guests are also having their rideshare services or taxi bookings cancelled because of difficulty accessing the property.
Noise levels have also been an issue, though Sajjan says that’s improved recently.
While the alliance has given advance notice for noisy work, he remains concerned over the
impact the arterial upgrade, which is scheduled to continue directly outside the motel for at
least another 10 months, will have on business.
‘‘The only thing I can say to our guests is it’s not in our hands … it’s council’s work and we can’t hinder their work, we have to cooperate.’’
Hurley’s of Queenstown manager Toni Eade says they’ve also received complaints from guests about noise and access points.
‘‘People are finding it quite hard to find us … it’s a bit frustrating.’’
She’s emailing guests prior to arrival with a head’s up about the roadworks, and even blocking off rooms closest to the construction when night work’s scheduled.
A council spokeswoman says a noise expert’s on site during night works, and a noise metre’s available at all times.
Night-time sandblasting
By TRACEY ROXBURGH
Another round of night work’s planned along the stretch of Frankton Rd, between the Millennium and Copthorne hotels, from this Sunday.
In an update, alliance stakeholder manager Sarah Parry-Crooke says cats eyes, bollards and previous line marking was blacked out during recent night work, as ‘‘an emergency response to incidents and near-misses on Frankton Rd’’.
‘‘We are now undertaking a more permanent response and will be sandblasting the road to remove previous line marking.’’
The work’s being done between 7pm and 11pm, and while they expect it to take up to five nights, they’ll have a better estimate of duration after Sunday night’s work is finished.
