Picton streets reopen as KiwiRail puts town back ‘the way it was’

Thursday, 29 August 2024

Picton’s Dublin St has been put right as part of the failed ferry project wind up. A new level crossing has been installed with a new 'maze' approach for pedestrians.

Two Picton thoroughfares have reopened as KiwiRail puts the port town back to “the way it was” before it started work on the abandoned ferry redevelopment project.

Picton’s Dublin St and Broadway opened to pedestrians and traffic on Thursday, more than a year after they closed for upgrades, including an planned overbridge on Dublin St.

The move will better connect the town centre to the inter-island ferry terminals on Lagoon Rd, and the Waimahara berth at Shakespeare Bay, often used by cruise ships.

The Pacific Explorer, with 2000 passengers and 800 crew, was due to arrive at 5.30am on Saturday but was cancelled on Thursday due to bad weather.

Businesses in Picton last month said the Dublin St and Broadway road closures were hitting them hard.

Picton gallery owner Barbara Speedy said the closures almost directed ferry vehicle traffic onto State Highway 1 and out of town. Speedy estimated that during the winter, about 15% of the customers shopping in Picton were using the ferries.

KiwiRail project manager Doug Carter said getting the streets open again mostly completed KiwiRail’s work to wind up the ferry project, which was scrapped at the end of 2023. An alternative to the project was expected to be announced soon.

It was good to see the “closed” signs come down, Carter said.

Roadworks on Dublin St in October 2022, before the road was fully closed to traffic and pedestrians on August 1, 2023.

“We’ve had crew putting in some big days these past few weeks to get the job finished; we’re even a day or two ahead of schedule,” he said.

The barrier arms and signals, and a new “maze” approach for pedestrians, on the Dublin St level crossing had been installed and tested, Carter said.

“There is a bit of tidying up to do,” he said. “The footpaths aren’t quite finished and the road surface needs tidying up in due course, but the most important thing is to get the road open. We hope it’s another step back to normality for residents.”

Ferry traffic is being diverted past central Picton leaving shopkeepers out of pocket.

Marlborough mayor Nadine Taylor acknowledged KiwiRail’s efforts to return Picton to “the way it was” before the ferry precinct redevelopment work began.

“I would also like to make special mention to the patience shown by the community of Waitohi Picton during what has been at times a frustrating and disruptive situation for everyone. It’s great to have Broadway reopening as well – made possible by the putting right of Dublin St,” Taylor said.

Carter said KiwiRail had collaborated with Port Marlborough, Marlborough Roads, NZTA, Marlborough District Council and Simcox to get the work done on time.

The Simcox team would over the next few weeks carry out “final tidy up works off the road carriageway” with “as little disruption as possible”, he said.

A crew from the council would build a footpath at the Dublin and Auckland St intersection, completing the work to reconnect Picton’s port side and its town centre, Carter said.

Meanwhile, in the operational area of the Interislander terminal, the new mechanical depot and offices were almost done.

The demolition of the old depot and the reinstatement of the vehicle marshalling yard were underway, as was work on the last section of the Waitohi Awa Culvert, to increase its stormwater capacity.