Ballantyne Road Temporary Speed Limit

A temporary speed limit is being placed on a section of Ballantyne Road near Wanaka to help mitigate potential dust issues as the Queenstown Lakes District Council adopts its ‘no oiling’ policy.

The new limit would apply to a section of road between Faulks Road and State Highway 6 and Council would also be ‘ottasealing’ roughly 1600 metres of Ballantyne Road. ‘Ottaseal’ is a semi-permanent dust suppression process that lasts longer than oiling and is also better for the environment.

QLDC transport manager Denis Mander said the decision came in the wake of a review of road safety sparked by concerns from the Mount Barker Ratepayers Association about potential dust issues.

“There is a visibility issue on one part of the road due to forward sightlines being restricted by crests in the road,” Mr Mander said. “Ottasealing will mitigate dust over a large part of this area with the temporary speed limit also helping to keep dust clouds to a minimum and giving drivers more time to react to oncoming vehicles.”

He said the situation would be monitored over the summer months and the Council will also be looking at the future use of Ballantyne Road, particularly in relation to the number of heavy vehicles using the road as a through route and the impact that has on road safety and road maintenance.

The new temporary speed limit will be implemented on Wednesday.