The NZ Transport Agency is advising motorists of the planned removal of the temporary roundabout which has helped traffic flow in Cambridge while the town’s Victoria Street bridge was being repaired.
Work wraps up on the bridge this week and it is expected to be open to two-way traffic over the weekend (May 10-11).
Maintenance work on the 106-year-old bridge began in January, and the NZ Transport Agency had a temporary roundabout built at the intersection of SH1 and Shakespeare Street to help ease traffic going through and across town.
Regional State Highways Manager Kaye Clark says that with the bridge work now complete, the roundabout will be removed and the intersection will revert to its former T shape.
“We know a lot of Cambridge people found the roundabout helpful in getting on and off State Highway 1, but it was a temporary arrangement, and is not designed for long-term use,” Mrs Clark says.
Mrs Clark says the temporary nature of the roundabout meant the camber was unsafe for trucks heading into Cambridge on SH1, and it also caused congestion at times for travellers, especially those heading north on SH1 who had to give way to traffic turning into Shakespeare Street.
“Once the Cambridge section of the Waikato Expressway opens (in late 2016) traffic volumes on this road will drop from more than 20,000 a day to round 10,000 and the T-intersection will be more than adequate.’’
The roundabout will be removed over several nights early next week, depending on the weather.
For more information please contact:
Andy Knackstedt
Media Manager
NZ Transport Agency
T: 04 894 6285
M: 021 276 3222
E: andrew.knackstedt@nzta.govt.nz
