End in sight for Riccarton Rd roadworks, after five years and $49 million

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

More than five years after contractors first started ripping up Christchurch’s busy Riccarton Rd, the city council says no more work is planned along the 3.2-kilometre stretch.

Since September 2016, the council has spent about $49 million refurbishing and modernising the street, which stretches from Hagley Park to Church Corner.

The work has added bus and cycle lanes, made safety improvements to intersections, and replaced scores of old wastewater and water pipes that had reached the end of their usable life.

The final phase of work involves laying new pipes under a 1.7km stretch of Riccarton Rd between Matipo St and Hansons Lane.

The city council's infrastructure, planning and regulatory services general manager, Jane Davis, said this phase would be completed by the end of February.

It would take until the end of March to complete most projects in surrounding streets, she added.

“[After this], we do not have any roadworks or major maintenance planned for Riccarton Rd,” Davis said, though she pointed out that, as with any road, unplanned work could arise.