Because the Maruia Plain was easier to access from Nelson by the Buller than by the Wairau, Travers's route was of no real use at the time. But because the Lewis River gave access to the Hope River, which in turn gave access to the Hanmer Plain, the route was chosen in the 1930s to form a main road from North Canterbury to the West Coast. Lewis Pass is now the northernmost of three main roads between the east and west coasts, the others being Arthurs Pass (named after Arthur Dudley Dobson) and Haast Pass (named after Julius von Haast). Lewis Pass is the main road between Canterbury and the Buller, Nelson and Tasman districts, and it is used as an alternative route between Canterbury and the central West Coast districts when the Arthurs Pass road is closed.