Work restarts on Motueka safety improvements

Work to make Motueka’s High Street safer for everyone resumed today, Thursday 2 September.

Crews are back out on the road to finish installing traffic signals at the intersection of Pah/Greenwood and High Street, and to begin work on the pedestrian signals on High Street north of Wallace Street at the existing zebra crossing. A right-hand turn bay into Wallace Street will also be installed. These works are expected to be completed by the end of November 2021.

In accordance with Government guidance, we paused the safety improvements at Alert Level 4. Work is beginning again under Alert Level 3, while adhering to strict health and safety protocols.

COVID-19 has had an impact on the project’s timeframes, with improvements to the Tudor and High Street intersection now likely to get underway from mid-February 2022, with completion expected by April 2022.

Safety improvements to the busy King Edward St, Old Wharf Rd and High St intersection are on track to start on Monday 13 September.

The raised roundabout is expected to be completed before Christmas, with some work on the footpaths and landscaping at the intersection expected to be finished in early 2022.

A temporary speed limit of 30km/h will be in place during this work. High Street will remain open for much of the work, with some night works and detours in place.

Construction stages

Pah/Greenwood and High Street traffic signals and High Street north of Wallace Street pedestrian signals

Work at these sites is getting underway again on Thursday 2 September and we expect the work to be completed by the end of November 2021.
The majority of the work will be happening during the day, with some night works planned from late-September and into October around the Wallace Street site.

Tudor and High Street intersection – traffic signals

Covid-19 has had an impact on the project’s timeframes, with traffic signals for the Tudor and High Street intersection now likely to get underway from mid-February 2022, with completion expected by April 2022.

King Edward Street, Old Wharf Road and High Street Roundabout

There are several stages of construction:

• Stage One - Mid-September - 5 weeks
  We will start on the eastern half of the roundabout, which means that the entry in and out of Old Wharf Road will be closed and a short detour will be in place up Huffam Street. See map below.
   
• Stage Two - Mid October - 3 weeks 
  We will be working on the south western corner in front of the DOC building.
   
• Stage Three - Early November - 3 weeks
  We will be working on the north west corner in front of the clock tower.
   
• Asphalt and road marking - Late November – 4 weeks
  Once we have completed the outside edges of the roundabout, we will lay a new asphalt surface in sections. Most of this work will be completed at night to help not disrupt people traveling through during the day.
   
• Footpath works and planting - early 2022 – 4 weeks
  The footpath construction and landscaping/planting around the intersection will start in December 2021 with final work completed in early 2022.

An impression of what the final roundabout will look like at the King Edward Street, Old Wharf Road and High Street intersection

About the roundabout

The whole King Edward Street and Old Wharf Road intersection (roundabout and zebra crossings) will be raised, with a gradual ramp onto and exiting the roundabout.

The raised roundabout encourages safer speeds and improves visibility of pedestrians and cyclists. It is a treatment increasingly being used to improve safety through intersections and at pedestrian crossings.

The zebra crossings will be at the same level of the footpath, making it easier for people to navigate the intersection.

The zebra crossings will be set approximately 6 metres back from roundabout. There are three key safety reasons for this position:

• It ensures pedestrians are visible to people driving through the roundabout.
• It ensures the crossing points are located where people would naturally cross the road, therefore reducing the likelihood of jaywalking.
• It will mean vehicles will not have picked up speed while exiting the roundabout before reaching the zebra crossing.

Stage one roundabout works

Stage one will start on Monday 13 September with building the eastern half of the roundabout. We expect this stage to take about five weeks. During this time, we will need to close the entry in and out of Old Wharf Road and a short detour will be in place up Huffam Street.

The images below show the stage one work site and the detour. 

Stage two and three roundabout works

Below are images that show the work areas for stage two and stage three.

We are expecting to start stage two in mid-October and this should take approximately three weeks. Stage two will be building the south western corner of the roundabout in front of the Department of Conservation (DOC) building.

In early November we expect to start stage three, which should take three weeks and we will be building the north west corner of the roundabout in front of the clock tower.

See the images below of the stage 2 and stage 3. 

More information

If you need further information or would like to contact someone about the roundabout works, please email SH60Motueka@nzta.govt.nz or call Hamish Lewis 027 456 7654, or visit the project information site at 175 High Street.

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/sh60-motueka-safety-improvements/