Round and round: Riccarton’s road to ruin
Christchurch’s Riccarton Rd is a mess and has been for the past 14 months. Now businesses say they are being told it’s expected to take at least another six months.
It is strangling Riccarton’s economy, with at least two businesses already gone and others losing up to half their turnover. Temporary relief is in sight, with the Christchurch City Council postponing work over the Christmas period, but locals remain unimpressed.
The council contracted Downer to begin the work in September last year, with work initially expected to be completed in September this year.
Workers were replacing underground water pipes on the section from Harakeke St to Deans Ave, as well as under the Deans Ave and Riccarton Rd intersection, where pipes were damaged in the 2011 earthquake.
Steve Crotty and Mike Scott, coowners of Liquorland on Riccarton Rd, said it was the worst problem they had faced in 20 years of business on the site.
‘‘This is problem the greatest challenge we’ve had to face, bigger than the earthquake, significantly more damage created through these works than the earthquake. Much bigger,’’ Crotty said.
Chi Phung, of The NZ Nature shop, said she opened at the worst time and did not know if she would make it another six months.
‘‘As soon as I opened, the roadworks started, so literally I got the worst hit of everything. I’m going to try my best until January and, sadly, if I can’t survive, I’ll have to go,’’ she said.
Crotty and Scott have gone out of their way to examine the damage to commerce.
‘‘We’ve surveyed a number of businesses in Riccarton Rd and of the 67 businesses currently that we have surveyed, 70 per cent have had a serious impact on them because of the road works,’’ Scott said.
Cafe Sismo owner Colin Hao said his customer numbers had halved.
He was faced with a double whammy, because not only could people not find a park but no-one wanted to sit outside his cafe with the roadworks going on, he said.
‘‘Outside we have a nice design, a little bush, umbrella, outside seats and no people because they see the road works, they see the big machine, they hear the noise.
‘‘Just a week ago they came to dig a road and there was big noise and dust. People just think ‘that’s not a good idea outside’ and they just go around, they just leave.’’
Crotty and Scott said the workers seemed to be going over the same ground more than once.
‘‘They’re so slow, they’ve got one gang working on one hole.
‘‘To hear they’re going to have to come back and do more because of the condition they’ve left the road in is very frustrating,’’ Crotty said.
City councillor Vicki Buck said she sympathised with businesses but the work had to be done.
‘‘It’s horrible for businesses. I know these businesses are finding it difficult. I definitely understand that they are hurting,’’ she said.
She said the work had taken longer than expected because Downer had discovered several problems under the road such as old pipes that needed upgrading.
‘‘The roadworks are more difficult than they anticipated. Unfortunately all the three waters systems needed to be done. It’s a huge chunk of the city’s water supply and wastewater system down there.’’
The council’s head of three waters and waste, John Mackie, said the water system work was on schedule and the extra work was to rebuild the road itself.
‘‘More work is required to form the base of the road than was originally envisaged. This means it will take longer and is more difficult to construct, hence why it is now planned to restart in January,’’ he said.
‘‘People . . . just go around, they just leave.’’ Cafe Sismo owner Colin Hao
‘‘Significantly more damage created than [by] the earthquake.’’ Liquorland co-owner Steve Crotty