Water upgrade starts
Work began this week on replacing some of the city’s oldest buried pipes.
The pipes at 125 years old are some of the oldest pieces of infrastructure in the city.
Over the next four months, both the wastewater and water pipes along Cuba St between Rangitikei St and Taonui St are being replaced.
Transport and infrastructure manager Robert Van Bentum said the pipes were now showing signs of age with some cracking and needed to be upgraded to ensure they will continue to operate reliably long into the future.
“To avoid health issues due to contamination, we have to work to remove and install the new wastewater and drinking water pipes at separate times.
“By doing this we will have enough room in the road to leave it open to traffic although at times traffic flow will operate on a stop-go system.”
Cuba St will remain open.
Van Bentum says small sections of parking will be affected at times, however access to all businesses and residential properties will be maintained at all times.
“We know construction work like this can be tough on businesses, so it’d be great if Palmy residents could visit these shops and show their support during the construction period.
“We’re sorry for the inconvenience this may cause, but this work is vital to ensuring we can continue to supply some of the best water services in the country.”
Businesses will always have access to water and wastewater services.
Road closure
There will be two instances when the intersection at Rangitikei and Cuba Streets will close for about a week in each case.
The dates will be confirmed closer to the time, and the public will be given advanced notice.
To complete the critical join, where the pipes meet, the intersection needs to be closed. The PNCC has ruled out nighttime work due to the need for daylight to ensure the accuracy of the work done, and to avoid impacting on the sleep of the large number of residents in this area.
This work enables the next stage of the upgrade to Cuba St to be advanced to make a people-friendly route that connects Central Energy Trust Arena to the CBD.
In 2019 the PNCC completed the first stage of the Cuba St upgrade between George St and Pitt St.
The upgrades included narrowing the road, raising part of the road by Distinction Hotel and widening footpaths. Street lighting was upgraded with public seating and planted trees.
This work has seen a 10km/h drop in vehicle speeds contributing to improved safety for all road users.
These changes will also encourage people into the inner-city streets.
The initial design work for this next stage has begun and the council will be consulting with businesses later in the year.