Roading project coming to end

The final section of Ohope Road will receive its second coat seal this month following last years extensive road works. This will see the completion of the year-long project to widen and strengthen the road between Hillcrest and Burma Road, allowing for a sealed shoulder for cyclists and a grass walkway for pedestrians.

Whakatane District Council’s transportation manager, Martin Taylor, said that most of the site received its second coat seal prior to Christmas, but a short section at the Hillcrest road end did not pass its final inspection, so was not sealed at the time. The contractor will be undertaking a few patch repairs in the next week or so that are required to bring this last section up to specification. It will then receive its second coat seal before the end of March.

Mr Taylor said that the total project cost was in the order of $1.4 million, and this was funded approximately 50/50 by the Council and the New Zealand Transport Authority (NZTA). Mr Taylor said the project costs could have run much higher than this but innovations identified during the design and construction phases meant that cost savings were made. Examples include the use of crushed concrete from the Burma Road landfill to form part of the lower pavement of the new road. This recycling of waste materials saved the project over $50,000 and also saved space in the landfill.

Further savings were gained through a redesign of a section along the eastern side of the Foxglove Estate entrance where earth batters were constructed instead of the expensive retaining walls which were initially proposed. This redesign on its own saved over $725,000.

Mr Taylor said the overall project is a good outcome and shows the strengths of a good partnership between the Council, the engineers Opus Consultants Ltd, and the contractor Fulton Hogan Ltd.

‘There were a number of design and construction issues that had to be dealt with along the way, but there was a willingness between all parties to work together to find solutions and the completed project is one the community can be proud of’.