Ohope road resealing

The re-surfacing of the Ohope Hill Road is now scheduled for the 7 and 8 of February, weather permitting.

Whakatane District Council Director of Works and Services, Haydn Read, says the Council’s contractors Fulton Hogan would be carrying out the works and is appealing to road users to take due care and observe the traffic control measures during the two-day period..

“We would like to have the works completed during the peak of the summer period to ensure that the chip is properly bedded in before winter as Ohope Hill is a very high stress roading environment. The works are specifically targeted for this period to minimise the disruption to traffic.”

The work commences from the foot of the hill (West End Road), extending through Otarawairere Road intersection and around Cabbage Tree Corner towards Whakatane. The works will be manned day and night for 48 hours to slow and move the traffic across the full extent of the surface to ensure chips are embedment properly and minimise the potential damage to the road surface from fast moving traffic. While the traffic lanes will be sealed with a large size sealing chip combination, the shoulders/ cycle-lanes will be sealed in the smallest available chip.

Mr Read says the sweeping and remarking the road should be carried out before Monday morning, 11 February. “The road marking layout will be replaced to the updated standard for Passing Lanes and with the correct alignments for the curves and shoulders to eliminate the previous concerns with old markings”.

This work is part of the $2,3million Ohope Hill Road upgrade project. The upgrade has involved the widening of the road carriageway, earthworks on several dangerous curves, construction of kerb, channel, drainage structures and berm on the southern side of the road and installation of a wastewater pipe from Pohutukawa Avenue to Brown Road.

Some major earthworks were undertaken on the southern side of Ohope Road to the west of Pohutukawa Glade, while restoration planting was undertaken at Brown Road intersection fill, Cliff Road cut benches, Ngati Awa lookout, Cabbage Tree Corner and the fill area west of the Pohutukawa Glade.