Road to Cranford upgrade paved with hope and worries

Eighteen months of roadworks has begun on one of Christchurch’s major arterial roads, leaving residents concerned about the safety of children and pedestrians.

The work on Cranford Rd north of Innes Rd started on Monday as part of the $240 million Christchurch Northern Corridor upgrade, a joint project between the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and the Christchurch City Council. The street will become four lanes with a median barrier and a cycle lane on both sides of the road. The footpath will be narrowed in places and on-street parking removed between McFaddens and Innes roads.

The work will be completed in stages to minimise traffic impact. It will be done on one half of the road while the other remains open.

Previous plans were controversial. In February, the Environment Court issued a consent order after Fletcher Distribution (representing Placemakers) and Crane Distribution (representing Mico Plumbing) lodged appeals against the council. The order said the design had to incorporate rightturn bays into Placemakers and Mico Plumbing, and add U-turn facilities to the stretch of road.

A Fletcher Distribution spokeswoman said the company was ‘‘in ongoing discussions and working positively with the council’’.

St Albans Residents Association chairwoman Rene´e Walker said residents were divided about the works. Many were concerned about the disruption, safety implications for children and pedestrians, and the timeframes. Others seemed ‘‘unfazed‘‘ or were optimistic it would eventually relieve congestion near their homes.

The council had engaged well with the community, but making submissions before the work began had been difficult, she said.

Cranford St resident Ben Hogg said the road could be ‘‘a bit of a nightmare’’ and roadworks were already ‘‘fairly par-for-the-course in Christchurch’’. ‘‘The thing that I’m most interested in seeing is if the intended pay-off will come to fruition once the project is completed.’’

Cranford Oak Motel business owner Stephen Carrington said he worried the work would discourage guests who came in off the street, but believed the motel would benefit once the project was finished.

‘‘Coming into town, we’re the first motel they will hit.’’

Work had already started outside his motel, with contractors cutting up the road using a concrete cutting saw for over an hour at 2am on Monday, waking up guest, he said.

‘‘I understand work has to be done at night at certain times, but when it gets to levels like I think its taking it too far.’’

NZTA portfolio delivery manager Colin Mackay said no total road closures were expected, and two lanes would be open during most of the build.

Community engagement manager Melanie Williams said people would see a lot of ‘‘backwards and forwards’’ with works on the street.

The first stage of the upgrade, a new four-laned motorway from Halswell Junction Rd to Collins St, opened in 2012. It cost $140m.