Riccarton Road Upgrade

Riccarton Road recovery

PROJECT: Riccarton Road Upgrade (Harakeke Street to Matipo Street) CONTRACTOR: Fulton Hogan CLIENT: Christchurch City Council VALUE: $19.8m

Riccarton Road is one of Christchurch’s key transport corridors, with AADT of over 25,000 vehicles per day. It is the main route for the busy Westfield Mall, along with a wide range of businesses throughout the Riccarton Village.

This, combined with over 800 bus movements per day, meant it was critical that the works were staged in a manner to limit impact on these traffic flows.

The project included the upgrade of more than 3400 metres of underground wastewater, water supply and storm water pipes and connections to properties along an 800-metre stretch of Riccarton Road, as they were damaged, undersized and at the end of their asset life. The pipes – which carry about 10 percent of Christchurch’s waste – were up to four metres deep and were in the middle of Riccarton Road. Two-way traffic had to be maintained throughout construction.

Following the underground work, over 8000 square metres of pavement was reconstructed and bus priority measures were installed. Works also included signalised intersection upgrades, pedestrian, landscaping and cycle lane improvements.

The project affected a large number of businesses, restricted access, removed on-street parking and required unusual working hours. Regular drop-in meetings were held at local businesses and the project management team attended regular Community Board meetings to provide updates on the project. This helped anticipate and resolve stakeholder issues early and amicably, changing the programme or design where possible and offering tangible