Friday, 20 November 2015

Road opens to residents’ relief

UPPER HUTT, Wellington NZ, 20 November 2015 — Birchville residents isolated by the collapse of the Bridge Road bridge now have access to the outside world, with the temporary road connecting them to Totara park opening today.

Crews began the final phase of constructing this temporary road at 5:00am this morning, sealing the road which has been formed by widening a walking track. Traffic lights and edge markers are also being installed today and the road will be painted with markings next week. The new seal needs time to set but is now drivable for residents, provided they drive with care and observe the restrictions on speed and weight.

The neighbourhood had limited vehicle access to the temporary road via an escorted convoy since Wednesday 11 November, ten days ahead of schedule. This limited access enabled some residents to get their vehicles to and from work, school, and other appointments at certain times during the day, allowing contractors to continue to construct the road. The opening of this road this afternoon will lift these restrictions, allowing residents’ access at their leisure.

This temporary road, stretching nearly a kilometer through winding bush alongside the river, will be a lifeline to residents while their new bridge is being constructed. Some areas of this new road have steep drops, and over 200m of guard rail have been installed to prevent any incidents. Due to the terrain, the road remains a single lane and vehicles will be controlled by traffic lights and will be restricted to weights under 5,000kgs and speeds up to 20km/hour. The traffic lights have detectors that identify waiting vehicles and let them through at intervals that ensure the road is clear.

The temporary road, while narrow, will also service pedestrians and cyclists, which is another reason for the reduced speed limit. Once a popular walking track, the road will mostly return to its previous state and the road closed once the bridge is rebuilt.

The weight restrictions on the road do not prevent essential services getting through, and the road has been accessible to emergency vehicles since contractors first cut through on 10 November. On Tuesday rubbish and recycling services resumed, with residents able to dispatch waste that had collected over the last two weeks.

“The speed at which this road has been established will be reassuring to residents,” says Lachlan Wallach, Council’s director of asset management. “It’s also a good example of how agile a smaller council like Upper Hutt’s is when responding to these types of situations, in that we can make decisions and act quickly. We have been very fortunate that our contractors have been so available and have worked every daylight hour to get us to this point. We are confident of the same efficiency when we begin works on the bridge.”

“Gaining vehicle access and restoring some normality to residents has been our number one priority,” says Mr Wallach. “We’ve worked hard to make this happen and have also done our best to meet the welfare needs that have arisen from residents while they wait for access, wherever practicable. We’ve had a dedicated group at Council who have been tasked with keeping residents informed, and established a 24 hour hot-line for residents needing information outside of what we’ve provided.

Council is currently reviewing options for the bridge, which still stands with its broken back in the Akatarawa River and is taking advice from specialised bridge engineers.

“Our next challenge is to rebuild a bridge to restore normality to this neighbourhood, and then to restore the walking track that is now servicing the community as a temporary road. While the old bridge passed its regular and recent engineering checks, it still failed. We need to understand why so we can ensure what is built in its place won’t suffer the same fate.” Says Mr Wallach.

A decision over the future bridge is expected in the coming weeks and its construction is expected to take between six and nine months. It is expected that tenders for the new bridge will open in January.

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