Butter Factory Corner

The meaning of the name of this infamous corner known to all drivers heading out of town to Christchurch will soon be just a memory; in the interests of road safety, the WW1-era butter factory building is being demolished this month.

The NZ Transport Agency bought the site in late 2010 so that, once national funding was allocated, the corner could be realigned.

In the meantime Marlborough Roads has installed an electronic alert so drivers are aware of the curve and the need to slow down, barrier rails have been installed at the edge of the road, and the speed limit has been dropped back to 70km/h. The hedge and fence around the old butter factory have also been removed, improving driver vision.

Since the improvements, the number of crashes has dropped; the last accident was a minor one, almost two years ago. It’s a good result, especially given that 2.5M vehicles round this deceptive bend each year.

The long term plan is to ease the curve and to create a right-turn bay for south-bound traffic turning into Alabama Road off the state highway. It’s also intended to create enough space for vehicles to wait safely clear of the railway line when moving onto the state highway from Alabama Road.

And now that NZTA has bought the site, the Council has been able to get access to rebuild the stopbank where it runs behind the old factory site. The stopbank is probably more than 80 years old and part of it is actually formed by the concrete wall of an old shed - so earthworks are going to be necessary once that’s demolished.