Council searches formysterymarker

Mystery marks on the pavement in Heretaunga St near Grey St have delayed a Palmerston North resealing job.

The writing on the road indicates a service provider could be about to start digging holes, but Palmerston North city council programmes team leader Rob Campbell said he has no idea who was responsible.

‘‘It suggests someone is about to do something, but they have not told us. It is not a council contract.

‘‘It could be work planned for next week, or years away. We are calling around to find out.’’

It is the second time the resealing has been delayed. The first culprit was wet weather.

Council staff hold quarterly meetings with underground service providers to try to co-ordinate their works programmes, so that newlysealed roads are not dug up again.

‘‘We get it right about 90 per cent of the time, but sometimes unforeseen things happen.

‘‘If there is an emergency, or a developer needs the gas supply upgraded, those providers are obliged to do the work, and we are obliged to let them.’’

A current example of recentlycompleted road construction being disturbed is going on just around the corner from Heretaunga St, where footpaths are being dug up to lay ultra-fast broadband cable.

The Albert St-grey St roundabout and associated footpaths and kerb and channel work was completed last year, but was planned and started before the council knew the Government was about to roll out the broadband plan.

Even if it had known earlier, details were unavailable about which sections would have to be dug up, and where directional drilling could be used to lay cables with less surface disturbance.

Mr Campbell said reinstatement of council facilities by providers and contractors responsible was part of the deal.

While it was ‘‘annoying’’ when new surfaces had to be dug up, there was no extra cost to ratepayers.

And he said the broadband work at the intersection was an example of co-operation paying off.

The contractors had actually accelerated the work to get in before the council continues with a reconstruction of Grey St from the Albert St roundabout to Russell St.

The section of the road had a high crown, which would be lowered before the new surface was laid.

‘‘We have co-ordinated it so they will be finished with the cabling before we come along.’’

The council and broadband contractors were sharing information on their project plans covering the next three to five years.

Another example of what might seem to be a breakdown in planning was at the new Church and Linton streets roundabout, where the new, grassed edges are being dug up.

But Mr Campbell said it was the result of discovering cables that needed to be lowered when the roadworks were under way last year.

With a World Cup deadline looming to tidy up the intersection, and specialist jointing staff unavailable to respond immediately, the council did a beautification job and accepted the cables would have to be relaid later, and the concrete work will be completed by contractors at no extra expense.