Work priorities and traffic management have been rearranged on Christchurch’s Southern Motorway Stage 2 project, as around 250 construction crew resume their jobs under Covid-19 Level Three health and safety protocols.
Late March, 2020, aerial view of the Christchurch Southern Motorway Stage 2: Springs Road and its overbridge, with the Halswell Junction Road roundabout on the left, looking towards Christchurch.
The Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency project was originally aiming to get traffic onto the new motorway lanes by mid this year. “Having lost five of the remaining 10 weeks of the construction season due to the Lockdown and with more restrictive health and safety work methods now required we will not achieve this goal,” says Waka Kotahi Principal Project Manager Geoff Griffiths.
The construction force spent time learning how to work under the new safety protocols last week, he says.
“There are challenges to overcome but everyone is adapting and getting on with the job. We are very grateful to local residents, business owners and motorists who are being patient with our new work habits.
“The project team has had to reprioritise the work to ensure we reduce the impacts on road users and local businesses, given we will not be able to complete the motorway lanes before winter,” says Mr Griffiths.
The new priorities include:
“Work on the motorway itself will focus on attempting to get traffic on the city-bound lanes before winter, but this is going to be very dependent on the weather through May and early June.
“This will mean that over the next month to six weeks, we are asking for people’s patience as we undertake work that will require more restrictions on traffic than usual. We hope people understand that the added waiting time and distance travelled over the next few weeks is preferable to extended inconvenience through all the winter months and into spring.
“Additional measures to help speed up work and minimise inconvenience for residents and road users include using alternative materials and taking advantage of the current reduced traffic volumes over the next few weeks to undertake some of the more disruptive work immediately,” says Mr Griffiths.
Revised traffic impacts for road users to be aware of early May into June:
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Project pages/ background for this $195 million motorway project: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/christchurch-motorways/christchurch-southern-corridor/christchurch-southern-motorway-stage-2/(external link)
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