Residents of Shortcut Road in Cromwell will have to get used to traffic rumbling past their doors again from Monday (August 29) as work resumes on the town’s new roundabouts.

The two roundabouts opened to traffic in early June but only as a temporary measure, says  Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) principal project manager Brendon French.

The single lane facility in an area near Nichols Garden Centre – locally known as vets’ corner – is being funded by central government and the second at the intersection of SH8 and Barry Avenue is being paid for by the developers of the Wooing Tree subdivision.

“We wanted to give plenty of notice that the roundabout routes are closing for a few months until they can be opened permanently before Christmas,” Brendon said.

He described the use of the partially-completed roundabouts as “an early test drive” for motorists.

“We could only do this because winter temperatures were too cold to successfully apply a permanent topcoat seal to both roundabouts. In the meantime, crews have been preparing the area for landscaping and building footpaths.”

Heavy rain during the period damaged the approaches, with pot-holes appearing and being patched, only to appear again after the next downpour.

 The detour will remain until late November and is approved for heavy vehicles, he said.

Work to complete the two roundabouts includes landscaping, permanent sealing, roadworks linking the two and the building of a cycle and pedestrian underpass near the Barry Ave intersection roundabout.

From mid-September, a road closure will be in place on SH8B between Sargood Road and the Wooing Tree roundabout for the underpass work. 

Earlier this year NZTA informed the Central Otago District Council it will be building footpaths through the grassed area between the Big Fruit carpark and Barry Avenue, to link with the new underpass. 

NZTA requested permission to fence off this area while construction was underway.