Roundabout to stay
9 September 2014
Waipa residents have the news they've been waiting for with the announcement today that a roundabout will be revamped so it can remain at the intersection of State Highway 1 and Shakespeare Street in Cambridge.
The existing temporary roundabout was installed in January to ease traffic congestion during repairs to the town's high-level bridge. When repairs were finished the NZ Transport Agency said the temporary roundabout would have to be removed as it did not provide a safe long-term solution for SH1 users. Truck drivers found the temporary roundabout difficult to negotiate while north-bound traffic often queued up.
Cambridge locals and Waipa District Council advocated for a roundabout to stay.
Since June, the Transport Agency and the Waipa District Council's roading engineers have been working on improvements to the roundabout which the community could afford and which would improve the safety and capacity issues.
Today the Transport Agency and council confirmed a design has been agreed and announced a new roundabout will be built this summer. The existing roundabout will stay in place until then.
Waipa project manager Dawn Inglis said the Transport Agency and council staff had worked hard to find a solution to safety concerns "without breaking the bank". The roundabout improvements will cost around $450,000 and be jointly funded.
"We have a design that's not perfect, but it is preferable to going back to a T-intersection and it will certainly please locals who have been very clear about what they wanted," Ms Inglis said.
"This semi-permanent roundabout will stay in place at least until a final one is built when the Cambridge section of the Waikato Expressway is complete in 2016. At that point, it's anticipated far fewer trucks will use the route and it will be a local road, under council's control. We can continue to monitor the situation to see if further work is needed."
Work is likely to take four weeks and begin in January when traffic flows are lightest. The northern turn from Shakespeare St will be widened and the camber improved for large trucks. The central island will be replaced with a permanent kerb and filled in and traffic islands to the south will be extended. For the meantime, the south-bound slip lane will remain.
"The slip lane might not be needed once the Expressway opens but we can assess that at that time," Ms Inglis said.
The Transport Agency's regional performance manager Karen Boyt said improving the roundabout design so it could remain was a good example of parties working together.
"We couldn't leave the temporary roundabout as it was - as our priority is the safe and efficient movement of traffic on state highways. But Waipa residents obviously found the roundabout a huge improvement on the old T-intersection.
"So we are pleased that what we are doing with the district council is going to work for everyone."
ENDS
Media enquiries:
Jeanette Tyrrell
(on behalf of Waipa District Council)
027 5077 599
or
Natalie Dixon
Media Manager
Waikato and Bay of Plenty region
NZ Transport Agency
T: 07 928 7908
M: 021 928413
