What to expect in your areaVictoria Street West
We have almost completed our work on the northern side of Victoria Street West between The President Hotel and Queen Street. The footpath and loading zone will soon open to the public and the new road layout will be opened to traffic in both directions. Small work sites will be active for the next week to finish the last of the paving and install some street furniture.
Next week we expect to move our worksite to the southern side of the street between Elliott Street and Queen Street. We will begin by excavating and installing new drainage, streetlight pole foundations and preparing the subgrade for the new cycleway and extended footpath.
Later in the year, when our trees and plants are ready to leave the nursery, and to align with the preferred planting season, we will come back to this section of the street to place them, transforming the look and feel of the place.
Victoria Street East
Work has begun on the intersection of High Street and Victoria Street East. The road has been reduced to one lane in High Street and will remain this way as per the final design. We are currently working on the western corner near The Coconut Factory to lay ducting, install the new kerb and extend the footpath.
We are also setting up our site between The Brand Warehouse and Kitchener Street. As we begin to upgrade the streetscape in that section, we will start work on stormwater upgrades which involves excavating trenches and installing new stormwater lines. The footpath on Victoria Street East next to The Brand Warehouse and Victoria Street carpark, will be closed for the duration of these works and pedestrians will be directed to use the footpath on the other side of the road. We expect to be working in this zone for approximately four months.
We have set up a temporary loading zone in Kitchener Street (near the corner of Victoria Street) to service the block between Kitchener and Lorne Streets. We are proposing to turn this into a permanent loading zone, and are currently speaking to local residents and businesses about this decision. After reviewing feedback previously received from the local community on the need for additional loading zones, we believe this would be a good use of the space that will become available when this section of Kitchener Street is reduced to one lane, as per the final design.
The utility diversions we've been doing in preparation for Watercare's wastewater upgrade, at the intersection of Queen and Victoria Streets, are now complete. We will need to return intermittently over the next few months to the Farmers and Starbucks corners to complete testing and connection of the watermain. This work will be less intrusive as there won’t be significant excavation involved and we will be working for short periods within smaller sites.
We are currently installing new communications ducting outside Starbucks and 220 Queen Street. This work is expected to be completed early next week.
If you have any questions about construction, you can reach our contractor JFC’s Stakeholder Liaison Manager Sally Logan at sally.logan@jfcltd.co.nz or 021 420 794.
Victoria Street Loading Zones
Loading zones from mid-March
Elliott Street
From Monday 18 March until Wednesday 27 March, Vector will be working on the corner of Elliott and Wellesley Streets between 7am and 8pm, to upgrade the electricity network. Part of the pavement on Elliott Street will be closed during the works but the road remains open and there will be pedestrian access around the worksite.
No planned power outages are required to complete these works, and we have coordinated with Auckland Transport and CRL to do this work now to avoid having to undertake additional work in the same area later.
You will find the notification letter included as an attachment to this newsletter. This includes more details, including who to contact.
Wellesley Street Bus Improvements
Auckland Transport is preparing to start construction on Monday 15 April to upgrade the Wellesley Street West streetscape and improve public transport facilities. To enable these works, the Elliott to Queen Street block will be bus-only between 7am and 7pm, 7 days a week. Outside of those hours, it will be open to buses and ‘Authorized vehicles only’ meaning goods and services vehicles will be able to use the road. Pedestrian and business access will be maintained and loading zones on Elliott and Queen Streets will remain available at all hours.
During construction all bus stops on Wellesley Street between Queen and Albert Streets will be moved to temporary stops one block west, between Albert Street and Hobson Street.
Construction is planned to begin on the north side of the street with pedestrian access to all shops always maintained. Paving directly outside shop entrances will be coordinated with businesses to minimise disruption.
Footpath work will be staged so that the footpath is never fully closed but will be narrowed at various times. Once the northern side of the street is complete and fully open to pedestrians, work will shift to the south side of the street.
We are still finalising exact timing of when this shift will happen and expect to be able to update you on this before work starts in mid-April.
During the 18-month construction period vehicle access to Elliott Street and the Bledisloe House car park will continue to be available.
Work is scheduled to be completed in late 2025.
Te Waihorotiu Station - City Rail Link
Link Alliance is now approximately halfway through the Te Waihorotiu Station streetscape upgrade programme. To mark this milestone, they have released a new staging map outlining progress so far and what's yet to come.
For more information about CRL progress and upcoming works see the Te Waihorotiu Station latest newsletter at:https://www.cityraillink.co.nz/aotea-newsletter
If you have any questions, contact the Link Alliance team at 0800 CRL TALK or aotea@linkalliance.co.nz .
Vector works
From Monday 18 March until Wednesday 27 March, Vector will be working on the corner of Elliott and Wellesley Streets between 7am and 8pm, to upgrade the electricity network. Part of the paving on Elliot Street will be closed during the works. No planned power outages are required to complete these works, and we have coordinated with Auckland Transport and CRL, to do this work now to avoid having to undertake additional work in the same area later.
You will find the notification letter included as an attachment to this newsletter. This includes more details, including who to contact.
There are no works planned for Wellesley Street East at this time. Watercare plan to begin their wastewater upgrades in mid-2024.
Streetscape works continue on Albert Street between Wyndham Street and Mayoral Drive.
Find out more about the work on Albert Street here. If you have any questions, contact the Link Alliance team at 0800 CRL TALK or aotea@linkalliance.co.nz .
Link Alliance has now commenced some initial utilities upgrade works on the south side of the Wyndham/Albert St intersection. For now, two-way traffic is maintained on Wyndham Street. In coming weeks Link Alliance will continue streetscape upgrades, which will require a larger site footprint and a temporary one-way diversion on Wyndham Street. We will provide you with an update on these works once the plans have been finalised.
If you have any questions, contact the Link Alliance team at 0800 CRL TALK or aotea@linkalliance.co.nz .
Vector have completed their electricity network upgrades near Airedale and Wakefield Streets and there are no works planned for this section of Queen Street at this time. Watercare plan to begin their wastewater upgrades in mid-2024.
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