Safety upgrades nearing an end

Work is nearing an end on several safety upgrades to Christchurch’s transport network.

Christchurch City Council Acting Head of Transport Lynette Ellis says that by early October construction work should be wrapped up on:

• The Dyers Pass Road safety upgrade, which has involved widening the road in places and installing three kilometres of guardrails to help reduce the severity of crashes where vehicles would have left the road.
• The realignment of the busy intersection of Cashmere Road, Hoon Hay Road and Worsleys Road. This project has also involved installing traffic lights and pedestrian signals.
• The installation of safety bollards at the Hereford Street end of Oxford Terrace to protect pedestrians by stopping vehicles from entering the busy pedestrian area outside of permitted times. Testing and commissioning will continue through October.
• Improvements to the public transport hub near the Eastgate Shopping Centre in Linwood that will make it easier and safer for people to access the bus stops on Buckleys Road. The road layout has been changed, better bus shelters added, and a signalised pedestrian crossing installed.

“These projects have been happening in different parts of the city but they have one key thing in common – they are all about improving safety for people travelling around our network’’ Ms Ellis says.

“I know some of the work on these projects has been disruptive and has taken longer than people would have liked. This is particularly the case on Dyers Pass Road where unexpectedly soft soil conditions slowed-down work on installing the safety barriers.

“Last month’s COVID-19 Alert Level 4 lockdown unfortunately compounded the delays, forcing all work on site to stop for two weeks. Our contractors though were able to get back on the job under Alert Level 3.

“I want to thank everyone for their patience and assure them that we are nearing the finishing line. By early October, work on these four projects should be largely completed,’’ Ms Ellis says.