Meola Road Construction Update - March, 2024

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE - March 2024

Welcome to the March construction update for the Point Chevalier to Westmere Improvements Project. Construction ramped up another notch during February, with so much more occurring throughout Meola Road.  Read on below to learn more.

In this update:

• Progress during February 2024

  • Feel good: visits from the Scouts

  • Underground services

  • Stormwater works on Point Chevalier Road and Meola Road

  • Repairing Meola Road itself

• What’s coming up in March and April 2024:

  • Point Chevalier Road

    • Northbound detour extended from early March 2024

  • Meola Road

    • Access for pedestrians and cyclists remains open

    • Mid-section road closure continues until April 2024

    • Residents only from Walford Road through to the dog park entrance

    • Residents only from Scout Den to Garnet Road

    • Vector and Chorus stop/go traffic management continues in other areas of Meola Road

    • Intersections of Walford, Moa and Kiwi roads are restricted

• Local business profile of the month - The Corner Cafe

Progress this month

Meola Road works

For the purposes of the work, Meola Road has been separated into four sections:

1. Point Chevalier Road to Walford Road

2. Walford Road intersection to Property 207 (near the dog park entrance)

3. The middle, non-residential section

4. Properties 1-21 Meola Road - i.e. the Westmere end

During February, we worked in all four sections.  Working hours start at 7am, with the “pre-start” meeting, then the team head out to site and work through to 7pm.  The photograph below shows a convoy of trucks rolling into site to start their day.

Meola Road - Pt Chevalier Road to Walford Road

The bulk of the February work in this section related to underground services.

Vector and Chorus continued their portion of the works - relocating the cables and laying new private property connections.

Work continued on the crucial ‘combined services trench’ on the northern side of Meola Road at the Point Chevalier end.  The team are excavating a small trench and laying new conduits underneath the footpath and/or in the berm.  These conduits will eventually carry the new power and communications cables, relocated from above ground to underground.  In some places, there are multiple cables that the team need to carefully work around, underscoring the complexity of the task.

Meola Road - Walford Road to property 207

In addition to underground service works in this section (as described above), works started in earnest this month to replace the road itself.  Kerbs and channels were removed and the top 170mm of asphalt scraped off.

The team installed new subsoil drainage, then extensively tested it to determine if the existing road pavement could remain.  Unfortunately, the clay beneath this was extremely soft. We needed to remove 530mm more to construct a stable and durable road pavement to meet road specifications.  The road reconstruction work has started along with the concrete pavement intersections works at Moa Road and the raised pedestrian crossing on Walford Road.  

This work got underway in late February, starting on the southern side outside property 210.  During March, the team will work towards Walford Road, then come back and work on the northern side.

Meola Road - the middle non-residential section

In this section, the work focus has now shifted from foundation work to more surface level works.  The first pedestrian crossing was constructed near the dog park entrance.  The team first excavated and compacted a smooth base from which to work.

They then used timber “boxing” to create the shape of the pedestrian crossing and filled it with reinforcing steel and concrete.

A track mat has been placed over the new concrete to protect it from construction vehicle traffic.

Works have also begun on the footpath and cycleway through the middle section.  In February, the team created the foundation layers, providing a level surface to work on.  

In some areas, the concrete footpath works are already underway.  The images below show the footpath concrete works near the MOTAT gate.  

Textured detail to assist those with vision impairment has been added to the kerbing where bus stops will be located.

New fencing has been installed in areas where there is a drop-off.

Meola Road - the Westmere end

Strength testing in early February found that a deep level of excavation was required at this end of Meola Road to create a stable road base.  The team excavated 900mm from the previous road surface.  

Geomesh, a geosynthetic fabric used in road construction to add further reinforcement, was laid on top of the clay base to form an extra layer of strength, then gravel aggregate placed on top.

The roller compacts on the fine layers together.  Further testing at this stage has found that concrete reinforcing is required as well.  This will be undertaken during March.

One of our favourite images of the month below is of Trevor Mabely, one of our truck drivers.  Trevor is 81 years young and came out of retirement due to a shortage of truck drivers in the industry.  Here he is enjoying a short break with a cookie courtesy of the Point Chevalier Air Scouts - gorgeous!

What’s coming up

Works on Point Chevalier Road in March/April

• We will continue laying the new stormwater main pipe along Point Chevalier Road, heading northwards towards Meola Road.  

• A new works area opened up at the start of March between the Smale Street intersection and the Formby Avenue/Wakatipu Street intersection.  The first task in this new area is the new stormwater main pipe, which will be constructed heading from Formby Avenue working towards Smale Street.

• We will continue installing lateral connections from the new stormwater main pipe to private properties.  These works will sometimes affect access to and from private properties.

• Traffic management will move as construction progresses.

Traffic management on Point Chevalier Road

Northbound closure - Smale Street to Meola Road

The current traffic management arrangement was put in place on 4 March 2024, redirecting all northbound traffic off Point Chevalier Road through the side streets of Smale Street, Pelham Avenue, Muripara Avenue and Target Street.

Formby Avenue and Walker Road are closed to access at the Point Chevalier Road end.  See map below. 

• Southbound traffic remains on Point Chevalier Road.

• Parking is removed in work areas and safety zones.

• Pedestrian access will be limited at times on the western side.  All pedestrians and business customers will be escorted through work areas along Point Chevalier Road, including residents’ access and egress from their properties at times.

• Vehicle access for residents will be restricted at times.  We are working closely with immediate neighbours.

• For bus route diversions and bus stop closures, you can find more information on the AT website.

Please remember that these side streets are limited to 30kph - drive with care.

Works on Meola Road in March/April

• There is a lot of work going on across Meola Road.  

• All of Meola Road remains open to pedestrians and cyclists.  Vehicle through traffic has been detoured - see further information below.

• We will reopen Meola Road to traffic on April 28.  However, there is still more to do on Meola Road, with full completion expected in early 2025.  

• We have summarised the works by section below.

Between the Scout Den and Garnet Road

• We are reconstructing Meola Road itself between Properties 1 to 21 i.e. the Westmere end.  Cement stabilising will be carried out and cure for 7 days.  Kerb and drainage channels will be installed, chip seal placed and footpath and cycleway construction will commence.

• Vehicle access to this area of Meola Road is also only for residents.

• We are working very closely with residents to manage their access and construction impacts.

Traffic management on Meola Road

Meola Road’s middle, non-residential section remains closed through to the end of April 2024. See detour map below.

From Walford Road to the dog park entrance remains residents only access, as does the Westmere end from Garnet Road to the Scout Den.

Access for pedestrians and cyclists remains open.

For bus route diversions and bus stop closures, you can find more information on the AT website.

Stop/go traffic management will continue along Meola Road between Point Chevalier Road and Walford Road.  Please ensure you carefully follow the traffic management signage and direction of the traffic management team.  

Please note that our work programme and dates are always subject to change due to construction progress, clashes with existing unknown services (including asbestos pipes), weather and reprogramming.

All dates and information are provided as a guide only. Directly affected residents and neighbours will be notified of night work, road closures and construction impacts.  

Local business spotlight:The Corner Cafe

Construction work can be challenging for local businesses.  Our team is working closely with businesses along Point Chevalier Road to keep them carefully informed of works and changes.  One way we can help is by profiling a business in our monthly updates.

This month we celebrate The Corner Cafe which is owned and managed by the lovely Lanlai Cai and her family.  Lanlai took over The Corner Cafe in October 2023.  Since then, they have some incredible food on offer for both breakfast and lunch. We can personally recommend their orange and almond cake which is so moist and their fabulous matcha lattes, a perfect blend of taste and aroma.  

Please do support all local businesses - they are all fantastic!

Contact us and stay informed

For general AT or project enquiries, email projects@at.govt.nz or phone 09  930 5090.

If you have any questions about construction, please contact the Dempsey Wood team on 0800 782 429 or email us at PtC2W@dempseywood.co.nz.

Visit AT’s website to learn more about the project www.at.govt.nz/ptc2w

If you’ve received this update from a friend and would like to receive it directly to your mailbox each month, please sign up here

There is a lot to do over the next 14 months and it will be disruptive at times, especially for neighbouring properties.  As always, we'll do our best to minimise the effects of these works on businesses, neighbours, pedestrians and motorists. Please consider supporting local businesses during this time.  

We thank you for your continued patience and support - it has been and is very much appreciated by our team.

Sincerely,
The Point Chevalier to Westmere Project Team