Closure to let road work go ahead

The King Edward St entry and exit point with High St Motueka is set to close for six weeks as part of the $6.8 million safety improvements project for the High St section of State Highway 60.

Scheduled to take effect from Monday, the closure has led to the establishment of a detour for motorists via Wildman Rd, Queen

Victoria St and Whakarewa St.

‘‘It’s a long detour,’’ said Tasman District Council Motueka ward councillor David Ogilvie, who said news of the closure came as a surprise. However, he thought residents would quickly adjust.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency director of regional relationships Emma Speight said the agency did look at keeping King Edward St open. However, ‘‘to keep our crew and the public safe, we need to close this road’’.

‘‘We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.’’

The planned closure comes as teams building a roundabout at the intersection of High St, Old Wharf Rd and King Edward St complete the first stage of construction on the eastern half and move across the road to build the western section, near the Clock Tower and Department of Conservation building.

‘‘The first stage of construction, building the eastern half of the roundabout . . . has gone very well,’’ Speight said. ‘‘The raised roundabout will help keep everyone who travels through this intersection safe.’’

Ogilvie said he hoped the roundabout would be completed ‘‘as quickly as possible’’.

As teams continue with construction of the roundabout and the installation of traffic signals further along High St, NZTA is planning some night work.

From Sunday, five weeks of night work will get under way on pavement construction and road resurfacing at the intersections of Pah, Greenwood and High streets, as well as Wallace and High streets.

‘‘Our teams will be on the job between 6pm and 6am from Sunday through to Thursday nights,’’ NZTA said. ‘‘Traffic management will be in place on High St.’’

From Sunday, November 14, night work at the roundabout is planned for six weeks, again between 6pm and 6am from Sunday to Thursday nights.