Years of complaints about overgrown weeds at Nelson’s Annesbrook roundabout have prompted NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) to replace vegetation on the splitter islands with concrete, but there is still no funding to upgrade the central island.
The work was completed last week alongside overnight pavement repairs on State Highway 6.
The roundabout is one of several locations that has attracted complaints since 2022, with concerns about driver visibility and the “scruffy” appearance of Nelson’s southern gateway.
NZTA says changing priorities under the current National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) have reduced the level of vegetation maintenance it can provide across the state highway network.
“Funding changes in the current NLTP mean we have had to amend the levels of service on vegetation control that we provide across our state highway network, including in the Nelson/Tasman region,” NZTA system manager Nelson/Tasman, Rob Service, explains.
The agency says $147 million is being invested in the Top of the South’s state highways, with $96 million earmarked for pothole prevention. As a result, vegetation work is increasingly being carried out alongside other maintenance projects to reduce traffic disruption and make better use of available funding.
Rob says the concreting of the splitter islands at the Annesbrook roundabout followed an assessment of locations where concrete could reduce ongoing vegetation and weed control problems.
The project cost $240,000 and was funded through the region’s low-cost, low-risk NLTP programme.
Nelson Mayor Nick Smith has welcomed the upgrade after years of pushing NZTA to address the issue, saying the roundabout has been “the cause for complaint” for many Nelsonians.
“The problem is, the overgrown weeds limit vision of drivers navigating the busy roundabout and it makes the entrance to our city look scruffy and unkept.”
Nick says he and other local representatives had consistently raised the issue with NZTA and through the Nelson/Tasman Regional Transport Committee.
Despite welcoming the work, he says NZTA still needs to replace the grass and weeds on the roundabout’s central island.
“I will keep pushing for NZTA to find the additional funding to complete the job and permanently fix the weed problem on this busy roundabout.”
However, Rob says that any additional concreting work at other State Highway 6 splitter islands will depend on funding in the 2027-30 NLTP. Concreting the larger central island would be “significantly” more expensive and is not currently funded.
NZTA has also ruled out using loose decorative rocks similar to those installed on some Nelson City Council roundabouts.
“For safety reasons, we cannot replicate the use of loose rocks on the State Highway 6 roundabouts. If a vehicle were to hit any loose material on the roundabouts, the rocks could become high speed projectiles, endangering the public and other road users.”
The agency is encouraging people to report vegetation issues through its customer service channels, but says they should not attempt to remove weeds themselves because of the dangers of working alongside live traffic.
