The Ashburton CBD streetscape upgrade work is progressing with 80% of the project now complete. Here are the latest updates...

EAST/MOORE STREET INTERSECTION

The upgrade work at the East Street and Moore Street intersection is progressing with the northbound/west side lane paved and open to traffic. The digging out and preparation work for paving of the southbound lane is underway, with the paving programmed to be completed this week. The new traffic signals will also be installed and prepared for commissioning this week.

The intersection will be fully open to vehicles and pedestrians on the afternoon of Monday 23 August.

EAST STREET

The new road resurface dig out and preparation work started last week in the northbound lane between Havelock Street and Burnett Street. Once the lane is rebuilt, it will be chip sealed in preparation for vehicle use.

The dig out work moved south last Friday to the Tancred and Burnett Street block, and once done will shift south to the Tancred Street and Moore Street section.

Tru-Line will then swap over to the southbound lane and repeat the process along East Street. Once the rebuild work is completed, it will be completely asphalted over a two-night period.

The installation of the last East Street tree pits and new footpath kerbing has now been completed.

The footpath upgrade work along the shops will commence once the road surface is completed later in September. Future-proofing cable ducting is to be installed, the existing water meter boxes will be replaced and stormwater downpipes will be connected to new underground sub-main pipes in the footpath before the new footpath surface is laid.  

It is anticipated that the footpath resurfacing work will be completed in early November.

The grassing and finishing off of the East Street green belt area will be undertaken during September and October when the weather is warmer.

BURNETT STREET

The streetlights have been installed, along with the street furniture.

Planting work is almost complete and then the street should be completed this week, aside from some small tidying up work.

IMPACTS ON OLD COPPER PHONE SERVICES

As mentioned in earlier updates, an issue that is continuing to crop up is the condition of some of the old and fragile underground services that are in our footpaths and roads. This includes the phone copper lines which are extremely fragile and sensitive to any disturbance as the contractors have been working around the CBD. This has seen some businesses being affected and left without phone lines until repairs can be undertaken.

With this in mind, we continue to encourage businesses to investigate switching to fibre from the old copper wire network. Providers have advised Council that it is generally easy to switch to fibre, it is free to do and often the monthly charges can be less than the old copper wire network cost.

CBD RUBBISH & RECYCLING COLLECTION

The twice-weekly rubbish and recycling collections with the change to the 7.00 am start time is working well.

Please ensure when you place your bins on the kerbside that you allow at least 50mm between bins to enable the truck arm and lift to be able to pick the bins up. If the bins are put too close together the machinery cannot grab the bins.

Please note, while we don’t anticipate any delays, they can happen and the above periods may be extended if the contractor encounters unexpected issues. However where possible, Tru-Line Civil will have extra crews working, therefore some work may begin earlier than anticipated. We will try to give everyone a ‘heads up’ if changes are pending. Adverse weather events can also delay work.

We do understand that this work will cause disruption to businesses and CBD visitors, and I apologise for this.

To receive important alerts regarding CBD upgrade works, text '#CBD' to '4196.