
Contractors working on the upgrade of High Street are trying to make up for time lost during the COVID-19 lockdown and hope to have the most disruptive work finished in early December.
When work started on the High Street upgrade, Christchurch City Council and Fulton Hogan were working towards having the bulk of the work completed by Show Weekend.
However, the COVID-19 lockdown has pushed out the work schedule. Fulton Hogan now expect to have the work largely completed by the first weekend in December.
“They have worked hard to make up some of the time lost due to the lockdown and are making good progress,’’ says Christchurch City Council Acting Head of Transport Lynette Ellis.
“They have completed the work to replace the sewer and stormwater pipes and they are working on laying the new tram tracks linking High Street and Poplar Street and installing the new paving. Most of this work should be completed by Friday 3 December.
“Work on High Street will then be scaled back to allow businesses to make the most of the busy Christmas period,’’ Ms Ellis says.
“Fulton Hogan will then return in the new year to install the tram poles and overhead wires, and complete the upgrade of the area in front of the Cotters site. This work will happen with the road open, but there will still be some traffic management in place.
“When it is all complete High Street is going to look fantastic. It will be a much more attractive space for people to enjoy and it will be safer for both pedestrians and cyclists,’’ Ms Ellis says.
The work being done on High Street includes: