Next week, preparation work will start for the major infrastructure upgrade on Waimea Road and Rutherford Street. This enabling work is taking place so we can install a detour for traffic travelling in and out of the City Centre.

The map showing where the work is taking place, and how traffic will be affected, is below.

The enabling work will involve removing traffic islands along Rutherford Street and modifying the intersection at Van Diemen Street and Rutherford Street. At the moment, this intersection is too steep for buses to get around the corner safely. While this work takes place Van Diemen Street will be closed off to through traffic, so east-bound traffic will have to turn down Rutherford Street, and westbound (residents only) traffic will have to travel up Ngatitama Street.

Pavement testing and underground service locating (finding the existing pipes) will also occur along Rutherford Street, Waimea Road, and at the Examiner Street intersection.

When the enabling work is complete, the main project work will get underway in mid-July 2022. The project's first phase will require the closure of Waimea Road, next to the Nelson College for Girls playing fields. This phase will take approximately five months to complete.

A detailed detour map will be shared in the coming weeks, showing the routes traffic will take between mid-July and November 2022.

Council is also working with schools, travel planning experts and the Police to make sure pedestrian and cycling routes are safely managed during the project period.

We appreciate this project is going to be disruptive to residents, organisations and businesses in the area. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you in advance for your patience and understanding while this essential work is carried out. When the work is finished, the water infrastructure in your area will be more resilient to flooding and better able to handle increased development.

For questions related to the construction, please contact:

Fulton Hogan’s Project Liaison Jarrod Todd on 027 456 7654 or email Jarrod.Todd@fultonhogan.com.

For questions related to the wider project, please contact Nelson City Council’s Project Manager Cameron Ford on 03 546 0200 or email cameron.ford@ncc.govt.nz