Stoney Creek Rd reopens away from the school gate
A $1.6 million project to move a busy arterial route 15 metres away from a Palmerston North school gate has been completed.
The new section of Stoney Creek Rd at Whakarongo School has reopened for traffic, and the old road has been converted into a slip lane for safer parking for drop-offs and pick-ups.
School principal Jaco Broodryk said the changes created a much safer option for the school’s 530 pupils and their families.
The old entrance at the intersection with Napier Rd-state Highway 3 had seen several crashes, including some causing serious injuries.
The new configuration complemented the provision of an offroad walking and cycling path from the school through to James
Line, which was already helping to reduce the amount of school traffic.
Broodryk said the third part of the package would be the installation of a pedestrian crossing at James Line so children could safely get over the road to the rest of Kelvin Grove from the pathway’s entrance.
Mayor Grant Smith said the project would enhance safety not just for the school community, but for other road users in one of the city’s fastest-growing areas.
He was pleased the New Zealand Transport Agency had invested $510,000 in the roadworks, and hoped the agency would continue to work with the council to lower speed limits in the area and improve other intersections.
‘‘The state highway that runs through Whakarongo is just too dangerous and will continue to be a problem as the area grows,’’ Smith said.
The Stoney Creek Rd works are the first major construction project to be completed in the city since the Covid-19 lockdown.
Work began in January and was expected to take five months.
Despite losing a month of progress during the lockdown, Higgins managed to make up time and have the work done before the end of June.
‘‘The state highway that runs through Whakarongo is just too dangerous and will continue to be a problem as the area grows.’’
Mayor Grant Smith