Increased resources for roundabout construction

Over the coming days and weeks, Raumati Road users and residents can expect roundabout works to pick up, after Council met with senior contractor representatives to agree on increased resourcing and longer hours for the works.

“Parts of this job haven’t gone to plan and we apologise for the disruption, inconvenience and frustration it’s causing. We’ve heard your concerns and we’re working closely with our contractor to do something about it. We also recognise that we could have done more to keep people in the loop, and we’ll be increasing the frequency of our updates,” says Sean Mallon, Group Manager Infrastructure Services.

“You can expect to see work pick up over the school holidays - you’ll see increased hours of work during the day and we’re at the point where progress will be more noticeable. We’re preparing the foundations of the road which involves using a roller to build up the bottom layers of the road and waterproofing to get it ready for the top layer. Once that’s done we can put down the asphalt, which is the final smooth surface you’ll drive on.”

“Once the final road surface is finished we’ll still have work to do to complete footpaths in the area, finishing off the works at the Weka Triangle, and carrying out the Matai Road Intersection improvements, but this should be less disruptive,” says Mr Mallon.

“We know it’s a nuisance but if you’re travelling through the area, please be patient and allow extra time for your journey, as the works we’re doing do require traffic management, and at times there will be four-way stop/go in place. We also know this area has been tricky for cyclists and we’re keen to keep everyone safe so while it’s busy over the next few weeks, we recommend hopping off your bike and going onto the footpath.”

Raumati Road is one of the busiest roads in Kāpiti and building a roundabout and carrying out other improvements around 10,000 or so vehicles a day plus pedestrians and cyclists can be challenging.

“To avoid disruption we’ve had specific works hours in place for our contractor. This was to avoid causing traffic jams at school drop off and pick up times and minimise disruption to residents. We’re trying to strike a balance but we acknowledge these works have been frustrating for everyone.

“We also know that potholes have been a big issue in this area, so we’ve instructed our contractor to be more proactive in managing potholes around this area. This should also become less of a problem now that we’ve moved into this next stage of works.”

Residents and road users can expect more regular updates and are encouraged to email or call us with any concerns or issues.

“We want to hear from you about how it’s going. If you’ve got issues or concerns, the best way to let us know is to email [email protected].”

To keep in the loop on progress sign up to Everything Kāpiti and bookmark the Raumati Road improvements webpage, which is being updated every few days to keep people in the loop.