As the asphalt cures on road rehabilitation work along Chapel St in Masterton, NZTA Waka Kotahi’s focus now shifts to Carterton’s High St.
The agency confirmed that a five-week, 24/7 programme of “significant work” will begin on Monday, June 3 along a 500m stretch of SH2 between Rhodes St and Anderson Line in central Carterton.
“The road condition through this part of Carterton is poor and needs comprehensive work for the safety of everyone who uses the road,” NZTA Wellington alliance manager Roxanne Hillard said.
The works are similar to those undertaken on SH2 in Masterton [which NZTA said are due to finish in the next few days] and include “excavating the road to a depth of around 360mm and putting down a layer of structural asphalt, and a final asphalt road surface over the top”, Hillard said.
“The nature of the work means it will take longer to complete than a standard pavement resurfacing job.
“However, this is the best long-term solution. It will result in a far more durable road needing fewer repairs. Investing in substantive rehabilitation now saves time and money down the track.”
The Carterton work programme will be done in two sections, NZTA projects portfolio lead Kieran Head said, with each lasting two to three weeks.
The first section will be between Rhodes and Kent streets, and the second between Kent St and Andersons Line.
Diversions and traffic management will be in place throughout the works and will add about five to 10 minutes to a journey, depending on the direction of travel and time of day, Head said.
“The plan is we will always detour southbound traffic, and northbound traffic will be diverted around the works on High St.
“Commuters in the morning and afternoon rush hours will need to factor in the potential delays from the works.”
The detour is down Somerset Rd, Carters Line and Park Rd.
Drivers will be discouraged from using Short Rd – a “very narrow, unsealed road” that connects Park and Somerset roads at their midpoints – with the installation of variable message boards, Head confirmed.
NZTA regional manager Mark Owen acknowledged High St has recently been the focus of several weeks of “traffic cones and trenches” while Carterton District Council [CDC] upgraded a water main.
“We’ve delayed our work so CDC could finish their work before we put the final pavement down,” Owen said.
“We did look at doing the two projects at the same time, but it just wasn’t possible.”
Local residents and businesses have been contacted by NZTA to inform them of the work by letter drop, and those located along the affected stretch of highway “have had a knock on the door and a chat from our comms team”, Owen said.
He acknowledged that the work will be disruptive but promised that “our work crews will work hard to complete them as quickly and efficiently as possible”.
Reflecting on Masterton’s Chapel St roadworks, which are nearing completion, Owen noted “they went quite smoothly once they got going”.
“We knew it was going to be quite disruptive, so we just want to acknowledge and thank people for the pain over a couple of weeks.
“But hopefully now we’ve got a really great product.
“When we do this work, we know it has to be well planned because of the impact, particularly on freight, and the volume of traffic that uses it on a daily basis.”
Was that 5 weeks 😳 🤔? Bring back the good old days when it would have been a 1 week job 🤔. To much P.C AND NZTA NANNY STATE.