Rhodes Park to get two-lane exit

It has been a long road to get a two-lane exit out of Rhodes Park south of Thames, but the wait will be worth it for sports fans.

Up to now the existing exit has been only one lane and in the busy winter sport season caused delays to motorists exiting Rhodes Park. The new two-lane exit should help reduce waiting times for people on their way home after the games.

Funding and layout design approval from the Thames Community Board caps off months of work with the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) to get approvals for a new Rhodes Park entranceway and exit.

The changes involved far more than just painting new lines on the existing entranceway.

To make the entranceway fit three lanes (one entrance lane and two exit lanes) we need to widen the southern side of the Rhodes park entrance:

• construct new footpath ramps.
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• widen the entrance road pavement.
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• construct new barrier kerb and channel.
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• widen the seal on the State Highway.
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• extend the culvert and install a new mountable inlet structure (which is a grating ramp over the end of the pipe so that if cars drive off the road they don't crash into the end of the stormwater pipe, but do a sort of Dukes of Hazzard moment up over the pipe.)
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• regrade a section of the existing footpath to match new kerb levels.
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• extend the existing speed hump.
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• relocate signs, the rubbish bin and a section of fence.
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• and then apply new intersection road markings.
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At its 20 April meeting, the Thames Community Board approved additional budget of up to $25,000 from retained earnings to enable the new Rhodes Park entranceway/exit to be completed by the end of June.

ENDS

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