An update on the Woolston Village Upgrade 

Happy holidays from the Woolston Village upgrade team.
There's lots going on around the Village and over the past few weeks we've been making progress on the south side of Ferry Road, laying the beautiful new eel pavers, setting up the Kea Crossing outside St Anne's School and installing the new road crossing signal poles near Maronan Street. We've completed the drainage work on the corner of Portman Street and installed three new tree pits. We'll pave this area after Christmas, once our paving team are back on deck, and for now, we'll lay asphalt to make it safe.
On behalf of the team, we wish you a safe and happy Christmas and New Year break and thank you for your patience while we make Woolston more beautiful.

Happy holidays and see you next year 

Contractors will hit pause on the Woolston Village upgrade works roadworks for four  weeks from Friday 4 December until Tuesday 5 January so retailers can make the most of Christmas trading. We’ll stop work, tidy up our work areas and make them safe for the holiday period. You’ll still see some of our crew on site next week finishing up some small jobs, which have minimal impact on the road network.

Eels join whitebait to make splash in Woolston Village

Eels and whitebait will be wriggling across Woolston Village, etched into new pavers to illustrate the cultural significance of the area. The sandblasted pavers are integral to a multimillion-dollar upgrade for the community village. The tuna (eel) and īnaka (whitebait) pavers will sit at intersections where the side street run towards the Heathcote River. 
Several bluestone pavers will also represent Woolston’s heritage, acknowledging those buildings lost during the 2010-2011 earthquakes.

Why did the engineers cross the road?

To make the ground stronger for the new signalised crossings and paved thresholds, of course!
Part of the upgrade involves removing the existing signalised pedestrian crossing between Around Again Cycles and New World, and installing two new signalised crossings, one between Woolston Bakery and Woolston Community Library and the other between Altered Images and St John’s Anglican Church.

We’re also building two paved crossing points or ‘thresholds’, which are physical or optical narrowings of the road or changes in road surface designed to encourage drivers to slow down. We’re building one at the western end of the Village between the Antique Centre and the Woolston Sports Bar, and the other between Woolston Discounter and Plunket.

We’re digging up the road in three of these areas. We’re doing this to put in the cabling for the new traffic lights, and also to remove the old thick layer of concrete under the road so we can pave the area.  We expect the ground under the new crossings to settle because it won’t have the strength of the concrete to hold it up. Digging it out now and putting in some cement stabilised fill will give the ground time to settle over the holiday break.

Bus shelters back in business

We've put the finishing touches to the new bus shelters on the East and West side of Ferry Road.

Extra support with Stratavault

Some people have asked what are the plastic things that we're putting in the new footpath and gardens. We’ve put Stratavault cells into one of our tree gardens. Stratavault are high-strength, load bearing, engineered, recycled plastic modules that support footpaths and roads, while providing space and soil under the ground for tree roots to grow.
We’ll also put these into the new tree gardens outside Woolston Pharmacy.

Key features of the upgrade

We’re upgrading Woolston Village and part of Ferry Road. This will make the village a safer and more attractive place to walk, bike and drive. We’re renewing underground wastewater pipes at the same time to minimise disruption to the public.

Stay up to date with news and updates

Visit our project webpage for the latest information about the upgrade. We'll send out regular newsletters as the project progresses. If you know anyone who would like to receive these newsletters, please ask them to sign up here, or email WoolstonVillage@ccc.govt.nz.

Thanks for your patience while we upgrade Woolston Village.