Motorists and residents will get a welcome reprieve from traffic detours around Cromwell, from Thursday this week.

The simultaneous installation of two large roundabouts has led to considerable disruption including traffic noise for residents where detours were directed.  While the winter break is welcome there will be another period of work starting in spring, to complete the work.

A temporary seal has been laid on the top roundabout near Nichols Garden Centre in recent days, to ensure it is safe to use over the winter, according to Brendon French, principal project manager for Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency(NZTA).

Just along the way, off Barry Avenue, a developer-funded roundabout partially opened in May for traffic. People had quickly got comfortable using it, Brendon said.

The Barry Avenue work was made necessary by the development of the Wooing Tree subdivision and would eventually include an underpass for pedestrians and cyclists, opening onto the Big Fruit grassed area.

The original subdivision contained 210 sections, consented through the council’s publicly-notified process but the developer had then reapplied to extend this under a government Fast Track scheme aimed at addressing a nationwide housing shortage.

The process overrode previous agreements between the developer and council, neighbours and other submitters, allowing section numbers to increase to around 360.

The cost of the roundabout was expected to be in the vicinity of $4.4M and would be paid in full by the developer, according to a Central Otago District Council report.

 Contractor Fulton Hogan has been busy on the two roundabouts since February this year, with sunny, warm weather contributing to good progress, Brendon French said.

The Waka Kotahi roundabout, estimated at around $5 million to design and build, is funded through the Government’s NZ Upgrade safety programme. The aim is to make this increasingly busy intersection safer for all Cromwell residents, visitors and daily commuters.

Workers lay the permanent asphaltic concrete base for the roundabout at the intersection of SH8b and SH6 near Nichols Garden Centre, ahead of its winter opening on Thursday.

“We know local people will be happy to see the end of the local road detours around these two sites for a few months at least,” says Mr French.

“Even though we will put the detours in place again for spring when we work on the final top sealings, people will see the end in sight at that point.”

Work over winter includes building footpaths and getting ready for planting and landscaping. Construction of the developer-funded cycling and pedestrian underpass near the Barry Avenue and  Wooing Tree roundabout was expected to begin in Spring.

 An official opening is planned for both before Christmas 2022.