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Last modified: 01 Mar 2021 3:04pm

A black car and a white car waiting at the intersection of Blakes Road and Shands Road

Work will begin this week on construction of two new roundabouts near Prebbleton.

Isaac Construction Ltd has been appointed as the contractor to build the two-lane roundabouts and other road works needed at the Springs Road/Marshs Road and Shands Road/Blakes Road intersections.

The intersections are planned to be substantially completed by mid-2021. Both intersections will be kept open in both directions as often as possible during the work, but traffic management will be in place, including reduced speeds through the work zone.

This follows Council obtaining the land necessary to build the roundabouts to an appropriate size that will cope with increasing traffic flows and future growth in the area.

The roundabouts are being mainly funded by Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA).

Under the conditions of the funding from NZTA, both roundabouts must be substantially completed by mid-2021 and the work schedule, including completing both roundabouts at the same time, has been set accordingly.

Since funding approval, the work to fully design the intersections and obtain the necessary consents had been fast tracked so that works could be tendered for construction as soon as possible to meet this requirement.

Council Transportation Asset Manager Andrew Mazey says, “We are very pleased that we are now in a position to start this work to improve the safety and performance of the Shands and Springs arterials roads connecting to the Christchurch Southern Motorway and the City’s roading network.

“We are continuing to work with NZTA to provide further intersection safety upgrades on these arterial roads in the Prebbleton area as part of a comprehensive road safety plan.”

Funding from NZTA for a two-lane roundabout at each intersection was secured in 2019 at an expected total cost of $9.7 million, with NZTA funding covering 75% of the cost as part of their national Safe Network Programme. The Council will cover the remaining cost for the Shands Road/Blakes Road intersection, while the balance for the Springs Road/Marsh Road intersection will be split between the Selwyn District and Christchurch City Councils.