‘Super weekend’ of work on central city intersection

Monday, 14 October 2024

The Manchester/Lichfield streets intersection will close all next weekend as contractors try to complete most of the water pipe upgrades.

A 57-hour “super weekend” marathon of works is planned for the Manchester/Lichfield streets intersection, near the under-construction stadium.

The intersection will close from 9pm Friday until 6am Monday to largely complete water pipe upgrades. It will spell delays for motorists and bus users as most buses heading to the interchange will face a detour.

The work is part of the council’s Te Kaha streets project. Council infrastructure manager Brent Smith called it a “super weekend” of work.

Progress photos of Te Kaha stadium taken by the Christchurch City Council in September.

“Our contractors are working in shifts from Friday night to Monday morning to get the bulk of the works … done in one go,” he said.

Detours would be in place, but travellers were encouraged to take Fitzgerald Ave or Montreal St to avoid delays. The work could affect bus services.

The $34 million water and transport upgrades started in July and will take until late 2025.

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The upgrades are designed to deal with growth in the city’s south-east, and the flow of visitors to and from One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha when it opens in 2026.

“We’re making good progress with the water works, with 90% of the water mains and 60% of the wastewater pipes replaced so far,” Smith said.

This phase was on track to finish early next year, immediately followed by transport upgrades.

City councillors approved the first package of transport works in August.

They will consider options for the final stage of work in November, when staff report back on the outcome of a co-funding application to NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.

The work would case about six-minute delays to affected bus routes, and therefore the overall reliability of the bus network, Environment Canterbury public transport operations manager Derek Walsh said.

Route 80 Lincoln/Parklands would travel down St Asaph, Colombo and Tuam streets instead.

Route 8 port-to-port will go via Hereford St, Durham St South and Tuam St.

Bus stop #53163 on Hereford St, between Manchester and Colombo streets, will not be in use. Customers would need to board or disembark at the bus interchange instead.