Surprises Unearthed in Queen Street, Waiuku

Queen Street in Waiuku is starting to shine as the town centre upgrade continues. The western side of Queen Street from Kirk to Court streets is almost completed and is a taste of what the whole street will look like by early next year. However, it hasn’t been without a few surprises.

One of the biggest surprises has been the presence of underground services in unexpected locations. It appears that, many years ago when the services were put in place, good records weren’t provided to Council.

“We’ve discovered we simply don’t know what is really under the ground until we start digging. The contractor can start in a place where our records show no services and find wires and pipes crossing in all sorts of directions,” says Franklin District Council’s CEO, Sally Davis.

It has caused some delay to the project, but has also reaffirmed for Council why they now put in the effort to obtain accurate records of what is found and what is being installed. These records are not just for Council services, like stormwater drains or sewage pipes, but also private services like power and gas.

Council is taking the time now to install ducting pipes. While the pipes are currently empty, they will provide secure space for future services that might need to go underground, like broadband fibre.

Franklin District Council will ensure that the work continues around the major events in Waiuku over the next few months, like the Flying 50’s and the Christmas parade. It is expected that the upgrade work will finish in the first part of next year.