Fraser Street intersection construction contract awarded

The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) this week awarded the contract to build extra lanes at the Fraser Street, 15th Avenue intersection, add two new pedestrian crossings on 15th Avenue and improve cycling and walking routes on State Highway 2A to Downer NZ Ltd.

The project, known as Hairini Link Advanced Works, will improve safety for all road users and give immediate relief at the busy intersection.

Rod James, NZTA’s Bay of Plenty State Highway Manager, says construction of the $4 million improvements will get underway in mid September and is expected to take six months.

“The large volume of traffic using the route means the build will be quite complicated. The first stage will be relatively straight forward with minimal disruption to road users. It includes shifting existing services (water main, stormwater and gas lines, electricity and telecommunications cables), constructing the extra road width around the intersection, pouring the new curb line and installing new traffic poles. The site will then close down for three weeks over Christmas.

“The tricky part of the construction will take place after Christmas. In order to give the contractor a clear run at completing the build as quickly as possible thereby minimising disruption to road users, we are planning to close Fraser St between 14th Avenue and 16th Avenue for approximately nine days during mid January.

“During the closure, the contractor will be working up to 16 hours a day reconstructing the existing road pavement, remarking the road and testing the new traffic lights,” says Mr James.

Traffic will be diverted along local roads. Advertising and signage will be in place to ensure the diversion runs as smoothly as possible.

The Advanced Works are the second of a four-stage project to future-proof State Highway 2A through the 15th Avenue, Turret Road corridor. The first stage was installing the traffic signals on the Maungatapu and Hairini roundabouts. The investigation into stages three and four of the upgrade covering the long-term solution for the rest of the route is currently underway. The NZTA is holding a public open day later this month presenting possible options. Details about the open day will be available soon.

More information is available at: www.nzta.govt.nz/hairini

ENDS

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