Temporary Roundabout Planned for Talbot Street & Widening of Bateup Road Set to Begin

Richmond residents and shoppers will soon notices changes in Talbot Street, as plans are put in place to manage a temporary increase in traffic during the next phase of the Queen Street Upgrade.

Upgrade project manager Jeff Robinson says upgrade works will soon require the closure of the remaining Queen Street entrance to the Richmond Mall/Warehouse carpark.

“This will mean extra pressure will come on nearby Talbot Street as shoppers use the alternative entry and exit points to the mall carpark instead."

Jeff said the effect on Talbot Street would be felt in two phases. The first would come within the next two weeks but would be relatively short-lived.

Phase 1: Short-term closure of Queen St/Wensley Rd roundabout

Jeff explains: “We need to close the Queen Street/Wensley Road roundabout within the next two weeks when our contractor, Downer, lays a new stormwater pipe across the roundabout. That will take several days but we will be able to maintain an exit for traffic coming out of the Mall/Warehouse carpark turning left onto Queen Street. Once the pipe is laid, we will reopen the roundabout and carpark access for a couple of weeks. The roundabout will be open for Easter weekend.”
The short-lived closure is a precursor to a complete and lengthier closure of the roundabout, due to begin in mid-April

Phase 2: Extended closure of Queen St/Wensley Rd roundabout

In mid-April the roundabout will close for about six weeks to allow the remaining underground pipe upgrades, street reprofiling and streetscaping to take place.

“We have been working with the owners of the Mall/Warehouse carpark to minimise the disruption as much as possible,” Jeff says. “We will be implementing some temporary changes to the layout of Talbot Street to help manage the extra traffic flows.”

These include:

• a small temporary roundabout on Talbot Street at the middle entry/exit to the carpark to better manage traffic flows in and out;
• removal of several parking spaces on Talbot Street to improve visibility;
• directing the contractor who manages traffic light signals to monitor traffic flows and alter the timing of the lights at the Salisbury Road/Talbot Street intersection if necessary.

“We have carried out traffic counts at the carpark entrances and traffic modelling to work out the likely effect of the Queen Street closures on Talbot Street and the Mall/Warehouse entrances. Even with the measures we’re putting in place, there will be queues at peak times on Talbot Street and motorists should expect some delays,” Jeff says.

“Once the work begins in the area of the Queen St/Wensley Rd roundabout, we advise anyone who does not absolutely need to travel on Talbot Street during peak times to consider the timing of their journey and possibly use alternative routes.

“This is going to be a challenging time and we do apologise for the inconvenience it will cause. The upgrade is currently on track for completion at the end of May (weather permitting) and we need to keep up the momentum to meet that deadline.

“We’re grateful for the public’s continued patience with the works, which are going to deliver greater flood-resilience to central Richmond, stormwater and water services that are up to the task of servicing our growing urban population, as well as a modern, vibrant town centre.”

Widening of Bateup Road Set to Begin

Work to widen Richmond’s Bateup Road and provide a shared walkway/cycleway is set to begin by the end of March.

The Tasman District Council is carrying out the work to make Bateup Road safer for all users and help cater for increased traffic resulting from growth – including a new supermarket and residential subdivisions - in the area.

The road and footpaths will be made wider from Three Brothers Corner to Wensley Road, and a shared walkway/cycleway will be created.

A roadside drain will be replaced with piped stormwater and some stormwater storage chambers.

Higgins Contracting will carry out the construction.

Tasman District Council project manager Graham Rimmer says the work is extensive and will require Bateup Road to be reduced to one lane for its entire length during construction. The project is due for completion by Christmas 2018.

“We appreciate this is going to be a lengthy period of construction for residents and others who use Bateup Road – and we thank you in advance for your patience.

“Richmond is growing extremely quickly and we do need to carry out some pretty major infrastructure upgrades to cater for that. There aren’t any quick, easy fixes but the end result will serve our growing population for many years to come, so I hope everyone can bear with us in the meantime.”

ENDS

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