Eglinton River

Westportal des Homer Tunnel im Winter.

Der Homer Tunnel ist ein Straßentunnel in der Region Fiordland der Südinsel Neuseelands. Er wurde 1954 eröffnet und verbindet den Milford Sound mit Te Anau und Queenstown, by piercing the Main Divide at the Homer Saddle. It connects between the valley of the Eglinton and Hollyford Rivers to the east and that of the Cleddau to the west.

The tunnel is straight, and was originally single-lane and gravel-surfaced. The tunnel walls remain unlined granite. The east portal end is at 945 m elevation; the tunnel runs 1270 m at approximately a 1:10 gradient down to the western portal. Until it was sealed and enlarged it was the longest gravel-surfaced tunnel in the world.Vorlage:Fact

History

William H. Homer and George Barber discovered the Homer Saddle on January 27 1889. Homer suggested that a tunnel through the saddle would provide access to the Milford area.

Government workers began the tunnel in 1935 after lobbying by J. Cockburn of the Southland Progress League. The tunnel and the associated Milford Road were built by relief workers during the Depression, initially just starting with five men using picks and wheelbarrows. The men had to live in tents in a mountainous area where there might be no direct sunlight for half of the year. At least three were killed by avalanches over the coming decades.

Progress was slow, with difficult conditions including fractures in the rock bringing snow flows into the tunnel. Compressors and a powerhouse in the nearby river were eventually built to pump out 40,000 litres of water per hour. Work was also interrupted by World War II (though the actual piercing of the mountain had successfully been achieved in 1940), and an avalanche in 1945 which destroyed the eastern tunnel portal. These problems delayed the tunnel's completion and opening until 1954.

Safety

The eastern entrance to the tunnel.

100 metres inside the Homer Tunnel.

In 2002 a tour bus carrying tourists from Singapore caught fire inside the tunnel, halting 150 m from the eastern portal. The passengers and the bus driver had to tread through the pitch-dark and smoke-filled tunnel to safety with the help of head beams from vehicular traffic at the entrance of the eastern portal. However, two passengers got separated and made their way to the Milford end. Three people were flown to Southland Hospital and treated for smoke inhalation. A satellite phone and fire extinguishers were installed in the tunnel as a result of this incident. Two tourist buses were destroyed by fire outside the tunnel in January and March 2008, though the fires were not related to the tunnel.

Roof lighting was fitted and traffic lights reintroduced in 2004 to reduce capacity constraints and safety issues. Although the tunnel is large enough for a bus and a smaller vehicle to pass, meetings involving two coaches or campervans are problematic. This is alleviated by the fact that the traffic is very tidal, towards Milford Sound in the morning and toward Te Anau in the afternoon. The traffic lights operate only during the peak summer season, since the avalanche risk makes it unsafe to stop and queue at the portals in winter and spring. With increasing traffic on the road, it is expected that the risk to vehicles waiting at the portal will also increase.

A widening of the tunnel, to allow for true two-laning, has been discussed. While this would make it unnecessary to force cars to wait in the avalanche areas, the high costs make this unlikely, especially for a road which (in national-level terms) carries little traffic - even if it is of very high importance for the tourism industry. Avalanche warning systems in the area are also considered to meet typical worldwide standards. In addition, Transit New Zealand (Vorlage:As of) had the realignment of the Homer east portal avalanche shed as one of the 'large activity priorities' on its planning list. The project would cost around NZ$ 14-15 million, and is unlikely to start before the end of the decade.

References

Kategorie: Southland (Region) Kategorie: Tunnel in Neuseeland

Straßenschild des SH 6

Lage des SH 6 auf der Südinsel

State Highway 6 near Kumara Junction.

Der State Highway 6 (SH 6) ist ein neuseeländischer State Highway und befindet sich auf der Südinsel Neuseelands. Er ist 1162 km lang und erstreckt sich von der Nordwestecke der Südinsel quer über den nördlichen Teil der Insel, dann nach Süden hinab. anfangs verläuft sie hier an der Westküste enlang, überquert dann jedoch die Südalpen durch das Inland der Region Otago und schließlich durch die Southland Plains zur Südküste der Insel. Die Kilometrierung verläuft von Nord nach Süd. Der Highway ist der längste durchgehende des Landes, da der insgesamt längere State Highway 1 in zwei Strecken auf der Nord- und Südinsel aufgeteilt ist.

Der SH 6 ist zum größten Teil eine Straße mit einem Fahrstreifen pro Fahrtrichtung mit Kreuzungen und Grundstückszufahrten, entspricht also etwa einer Bundesstraße/Hauptstrasse. In Invercargill und Nelson) gibt es zwei Fahrstreifen pro Fahrtrichtung.

Strecke

Nelson/Marlborough

Der Highway zweigt in Blenheim vom SH 1 ab und verläuft anfangs durch die umwegsamen Hügel an der Basis der Marlborough Sounds nordostwärts. Er berührt die Sounds nur kurz in Havelock , dann verläuft die Straße das Tal des Pelorus River hinauf in das Landesinnere. An der Pelorus Bridge wendet sich der Highway nach Norden, dann nach Südwesten und Nähert sich der Küste der Tasman Bay. Der SH 6 durchquert die Großstadt Nelson und die nahegelegene Stadt Richmond. Dann setzt sie ihren Verlauf südwestwärts über die Ebenen des Wairoa River und Motueka River fort.

Von hier steigt die Straße rasch an und erreicht den 613 m hohen Hope Saddle. Von hier aus verläufdt der Highway in westlicher Richtung entlang des Tales des Buller River und seiner Zuflüsse. Nach Murchison, verengt sich das Tal und wird zur malerischen Schlucht Buller Gorge. Der Highway schlängelt sich hoch über dem Wasser entlang.

West Coast

The highway leaves the river as its valley broadens, turning south six kilometres from Westport, where the river reaches the sea. From here, the highway keeps close to the Tasman coast from Charleston for over 100 kilometres, turning inland only briefly near Runanga. This 100-kilometre stretch includes two of the coast's larger towns, Greymouth and Hokitika.

From Hokitika, the highway moves away from the coast, though still generally keeps within five kilometres of the sea. The highway continues south past Ross and Harihari, moving through state forests as it crosses several fast-moving rivers. Seventy kilometres south of Harihari, the highway skirts Lake Mapourika and reaches the tourist settlement of Franz Josef Glacier. The glacier itself, one of two within easy walking distance of the highway, lies nearby in the Southern Alps, which here come very close to the Tasman coast. The second glacier, Fox Glacier is located some 20 kilometres further south. The highway again briefly touches the coast at Bruce Bay before heading inland past Lake Paringa, before reemerging on the Tasman coast at Knights Point. The 30 km stretch of highway from here south to Haast is noted for its rugged scenery. After crossing the Haast River, the highway turns eastward and inland up the river's valley, climbing past the Gates of Haast and crossing the 563-metre Haast Pass, the southernmost of the three main road passes across the Southern Alps.

Otago

From here, the highway again turns south, following the Makarora River valley to the northern tip of Lake Wanaka. The highway skirts the eastern coast of the lake before crossing The Neck, a saddle in the mountains that lie between Lakes Wanaka and Hawea. The highway continues along the western shore of Hawea, then south along the Cardrona River to Albert Town, close to the tourist centre of Wanaka.

State Highway 6 at the Nevis Bluff.

State Highway 6 skirts the slopes of The Remarkables and shore of Lake Wakatipu south of Queenstown.

Ten kilometres from Wanaka, the highway is met by SH 8A, a spur of SH 8 skirting the shore of Lake Dunstan. SH 6 continues south along the western shore of the Lake, paralleling SH 8 which lies on the eastern shore. Close to Cromwell, a second spur, SH 8B, connects the two highways. From here, SH6 turns west, following the narrow and twisting Kawarau Gorge, emerging close to the wine-producing area of Gibbston.

At the western end of the Kawarau Gorge, midway between Cromwell and Queenstown, the highway passes the Nevis Bluff, a steep schist rock outcrop rising 100 m above the Kawarau River. The highway has a history of being disrupted and closed at this point due to instability and rock falls from the bluff. The first road around the bluff was constructed in 1866, opening access to the Wakatipu goldfields. Significant slips occurred at the bluff on 1940-02-20, and blocking SH6 in June 1975. On September 17, 2000, a large-scale rock fall buried the highway at the bluff, and several motorists narrowly avoided being killed. The fall was caught on video and showed a volume of 10,000 m³ for the main fall; the resulting dust cloud was seen 5 km away. Transit New Zealand conducted stabilisation drilling and blasting at the bluff twice in 2006 and again in 2007.

From the Nevis Bluff, the highway continues west, reaching Frankton, close to the shore of Lake Wakitipu. The highway turns south to follow the southeastern shore of the lake, skirting the foot of The Remarkables and the Hector Mountains. This stretch of the highway is in part tortuously winding, and rises and falls over a stretch known as "The Devil's Staircase".

Southland

The highway leaves the lake's shore at Kingston, continuing south to Garston, where, the highway briefly follows the course of the infant Mataura River before heading across rolling hill country to the upper reaches of the Oreti River near Lowther. The highway continues to follow the Oreti south across the Southland Plains, past the towns of Lumsden and Winton before reaching its terminus at a junction with SH 1 in central Invercargill.

Nebenstrecken

Der SH6 hat eine Nebenstrecke, den State Highway 6A. Dieser 6,9 km lange Highway verbindet Frankton mit dem Touristikzentrum Queenstown.

Engineering Features

• Hawk's Crag is a single-lane half tunnel blasted out of a solid rock bluff in the Buller Gorge. It was constructed before 1900.
• The highway featured a number of combined road-rail bridges, but several have now been replaced.
• The Haast River bridge (km 750.0) is now the longest single-lane bridge in the country, with two passing bays.

Major Junctions

Territorial authority	Location	km	Destinations	Notes
Malborough District	Blenheim	0	SH 1/Classic New Zealand Wine Trail north (Grove Road) Picton, Wellington Ferry	SH 6 begins
			SH 1/Classic New Zealand Wine Trail south (Sinclair Street) Kaikoura, Christchurch
	Renwick	10	SH 63 St Arnaud, Westport	Alternative route to Westport, bypassing Nelson
			SH 62 (Rapaura Road) Picton	Alternative route to Picton, bypassing Blenheim
			Wairau River
Nelson City	District contains no major junctions
Tasman District	Richmond		SH 60 (Appleby Highway) Motueka, Collingwood
	Kawatiri	209	SH 63 St Arnaud, Picton	Alternative route to Blenheim, bypassing Nelson
	Longford	238	Longford Bridge Buller River
	Ariki	255	SH 65 Springs Junction, Christchurch (via Lewis Pass)
			O'Sullivan's Bridge Buller River
Buller District	Lyell	282	Iron Bridge Buller River
	Inangahua Junction	297	SH 69 Reefton, Greymouth, Christchurch (via Lewis Pass)	Alternative route to Greymouth, bypassing Westport
	Westport		SH 67 Westport, Karamea
Grey District	Greymouth	430	SH 7 (Omoto Road) Reefton, Nelson, Christchurch (via Lewis Pass)	Alternative route to Nelson, bypassing Westport
Westland District	Kumara Junction	448	SH 73 (Otira Highway) Arthur's Pass, Christchurch
	No major intersections for 367 km
		815	Haast Pass Vorlage:Convert
Queenstown Lakes District
	Albert Town	891	Clutha River
	Mt Iron	893	SH 84 (Wanaka Luggate Highway) Wanaka
Central Otago District	Luggate	901	SH 8A (Shortcut Road) Aoraki/Mount Cook, Christchurch	via Lindis Pass
	Cromwell	942	SH 8B Cromwell, Aoraki/Mount Cook, Dunedin
Queenstown Lakes District	Frankton	996	SH 6A (Frankton Road) Queenstown
Southland District	Athol	1061	Mataura River
	Five Rivers	1082	SH 97 (Mossburn Five Rivers Road) Te Anau, Milford Sound/Piopiotahi	Alternative route to Te Anau, bypassing Lumsden
	Lumsden	1093	SH 94 west (Mossburn Lumsden Highway) Te Anau, Milford Sound/Piopiotahi	SH 6/SH 94 concurrency begins
		1095	SH 94 east (Flora Road) Gore	SH 6/SH 94 concurrency ends
	Winton		SH 96 west (Winton Wreys Bush Highway) Nightcaps, Ohai	SH 6/SH 96 concurrency begins
			SH 96 east (Winton Hedgehope Highway) Mataura	SH 6/SH 96 concurrency ends
Invercargill City	Lorneville		SH 98 (Lorne Dacre Road) Dacre, Gore	Alternative route to Gore, bypassing Invercargill
			SH 99/Southern Scenic Route (Wallacetown Lorneville Highway) Riverton/Aparima, Tuatapere	SH 6/Southern Scenic Route concurrency begins
	Invercargill		SH 1 north/Southern Scenic Route east (Tay Street) Gore, Dunedin	SH 6 ends
			SH 1 south (Clyde Street) Bluff

See also

• List of New Zealand State Highways
• List of roads and highways, for notable or famous roads worldwide