A widely used Lansdowne footpath will not reopen on schedule due to delays in the project to extend Kitchener St.
In November, Masterton District Council [MDC] closed the limestone path as part of its project to extend Kitchener St to connect with Gordon St.
Contractor Westwood Civil initially estimated that work would finish in June, but the project is still incomplete, the pathway is still shut, and no completion date is yet determined.
With no close alternative route, walkers, runners, and cyclists travelling the loop from Nikau Heights, through the Lansdowne trails, onto Kitchener St and back to Gordon St have needed to detour to Roberts Rd via French St, adding 1.8km to the journey.
Council could not confirm when the work will finish, but an MDC spokesperson said it has directed Westwood Civil to resolve stormwater issues exacerbated by ongoing wet conditions.
The spokesperson said road construction cannot take place in wet conditions and that council expects an updated work programme “in due course.”
Despite work starting last summer, runner Jim Barr told the Times-Age in January the project had barely begun in the first seven weeks of the project.
“They fenced it off seven weeks ago [in late November], and nothing has changed,” Barr said.
Now, despite the work being scheduled to be completed this month, the expectation of months of wet weather ahead means any road construction is likely to be some way off.
