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Cambridge roundabout

We built an improved entrance into Cambridge, including a roundabout, road changes and landscaping.

That's a wrap!

It's been a busy six months at the entrance to Cambridge, we've completed

  • a roundabout
  • pathways and cycleways around Lake Te Ko Utu
  • median islands
  • pedestrian crossings
  • car parking
  • footpaths and paving
  • trees and landscaping
  • restoring and relocating the Lake Te Koo Utu gates.

And we're happy to say it's all done!

So, here's a big thanks to you! Thank you for your patience and understanding while work has been under way. Enjoy your new space!

We'll be back in October once the grass is established to tidy-up the landscaping - in the meantime please stay off the dirt to allow the grass to grow.

Previous updates

What's happening this week?

June

We're nearly there! This month is all about finishing the area off ready for Cambridge to enjoy. Here's what's left:

  • Relocating the restored Lake Te Koo Utu gates. The pillars should be installed around 15 June (weather dependent), the metalwork will follow and then the paths and garden around the gates will be completed.
  • Finishing off paving, mainly around the St Andrews Church.
  • Tidying up! Small bits and pieces to make sure the area looks fantastic.

The end is near! Thank you for your patience while work has been underway. It's been a big few months, we hope you're enjoying the new entrance to Cambridge.

15-20 May

  • Continuing to build footpaths through Lake Te Koo Utu.
  • Footpath work outside the St Andrews Church, Z petrol station, BP petrol station and along Queen St.
  • Building the foundation for the memorial gates.
  • Minor tree trimming of secondary growth trees to create view shafts to Lake Te Ko Utu.

1-6 May

It's been a busy two weeks! Whitaker Street is and the car park are now open. We've also been paving and road marking and enjoying the sunshine after a couple of stormy weeks! Here's what we're up to next:

  • Finishing installing street lights.
  • Paving outside St Andrews Church, Z petrol station, KFC and along Queen Street.
  • Building a new footpath through the green area of Lake Te Koo Utu.

The area is looking fantastic but please be patient - we're still busy with landscaping and footpaths. Short detours will continue to be in place for pedestrians - please use the designated paths.

17-21 April

We're looking forward to some sun this week to make up for rain delays last week! Weather permitting, we'll be working on:

  • Finishing the final surfacing of Whitaker Street - this was supposed to be finished but rain has delayed the work.
  • Building a raised crossing on Whitaker Street.
  • Continuing footpath work outside Good Union, St Andrews Church, Z petrol station and KFC.
  • Continuing the median islands on Victoria Road, Queen Street and Lake Street.
  • Installing street lighting.

3 - 9 April

We're getting close to finishing the roadworks around the Victoria Street / Hamilton Road roundabout. If you're walking by, please keep in mind that the construction site is not a short-cut, and stick to the walkways. Follow the signs for the temporary footpath, use the safe crossing point at Good Union and do not cut across the construction site, which is full of hazards.

Once the new median island on Victoria Steet is complete it will have a refuge point for pedestrians to wait safely before crossing the other side of the road. There will also be a new zebra crossing at Good Union.

Thanks for your cooperation!

This week we're:

  • Surfacing Whitaker Street.
  • Constructing footpath outside Good Union and BP on Whitaker Street.
  • Continuing to work on footpaths on Thornton Road.
  • Constructing the Victoria Road and Queen Street median islands.

27 March - 1 April

Thanks for all your feedback since the roundabout opened! Here's what we're up to this week:

  • Paving outside Good Union - this is going to look fantastic!
  • Whitaker Street will remain closed while we continue paving - we're planning to have it open before Easter.
  • Footpaths on Thornton Road.
  • Building a median island on Victoria Road and removing one on Queen Street.

20 - 25 March

The roundabout is opening later today (17 March), woo hoo! While the road will be open and ready for use, there's still lots to be done in the area:

  • Drainage on Victoria Street.
  • Line marking the roads.
  • Top soiling and mulching around the whole site.
  • Foot path paving on Whitaker Street, Thornton Road, around Good Union, the roundabout and some islands.
  • Continuing to build the road and car parking on Whitaker Street. Whitaker Street will remain closed.
  • There will be a lower speed limit and some stop/go traffic management in place while work continues in the area.
  • Diversions will be in place for pedestrians and cyclists.
  • Hamilton Road will re-open over the weekend.

Please take care using the roundabout, the area will still be operational and it may take time for motorists to adjust to the change in layout.

13 - 18 March

The weather forecast is predicting rain this week! Unfortunately this may delay the work we have planned.

  • The intersection of Hamilton Road and Victoria Street will stay closed this week while we lay the final surfacing.
  • We'll also be laying the final surface on the roundabout.
  • Whitaker Street will remain closed for pavement works.
  • Drainage on Queen Street.
  • Footpath work on Thornton Road.

6 -11 March

  • The intersection of Hamilton Road and Victoria Street will stay closed this week while we continue building the median strip.
  • Whitaker Street will remain closed this week while we build paving and kerbing. Details of the closure are below.
  • We're building footpaths on Thornton Road. Waipa Networks will also be replacing a power pole on Thornton Road on Saturday 11 March.

27 February - 4 March

Read all the details in our latest e-newsletter.

  • We're starting to build the roundabout island this week!
  • We're also starting the median strip on Hamilton Road.
  • The road closure at the intersection of Hamilton Road and Victoria Street will also remain in place next week while the median strip is being built.
  • Access between Thornton Road and Victoria Street will re-open this week.
  • Whittaker Street (outside Good Union) will be closed for the next three weeks while we rebuild the road.

20-24 February

  • Detours will remain in place for the week.
  • Completing the removal of the gates.
  • Drainage on Whitaker Street.
  • Weather depending - kerbing may begin around the roundabout island.

Last week we uncovered a pre-1900s drain running along Victoria Street, infront of Hamilton Road. The drain has been surveryed, logged and photographed. Check out the photo below.

13-18 February

  • Complete drainage and kerbing along Thornton Road.
  • Access between Hamilton Road and Victoria Street will remain closed this week while we install drainage and continue constructing the roundabout.
  • Access between Thornton Road and Victoria Street will remain closed this week but may be re-opened on Friday.
  • The Hamilton Road pedestrian crossing will move further to the west (away from the new roundabout).
  • Excavation of the western side of the roundabout (Hamilton Road side) will continue before asphalt is laid.

Work continues on building the western side of the roundabout (Hamilton Road side). Hamilton Road / Victoria Street intersection remains closed.

7-11 February

Read the latest e-newsletter for a full update.

Thanks for your patience and understanding while a section of Victoria Street has been closed.

The section of road from Clare Street to Hamilton Road will re-open on Tuesday 7 or Wednesday 8 February - depending on the weather over the next few days.

This week we're:

  • Installing drainage on Thornton Road.
  • Installing kerbing along Thornton Road.
  • Removing the Lake Te Koo Utu gates for restoration (these will be brought back later in the project and installed in their new location).
  • Building the road around the roundabout (Hamilton Road side)

To complete the work on Thornton Road we need to close off access to Victoria Street. Detours will be in place directing traffic to use Victoria Street East instead.

To build the road alongside the roundabout we need to close off access between Victoria Street and Hamilton Road.

Both closures will be in place once Victoria Street is open and will last 2-3 weeks.

Thanks again for your understanding and patience - these closures aren't ideal but we're trying to get through them as quick as possible.

31 Jan - 4 Feb

  • Laying new pavement (road foundations) on the northern end of Victoria Street.
  • Kerbing opposite the St Andrews Anglican Church.
  • Continuing with pavement on the eastern (lake side) of the roundabout.
  • Removing the rocks on the existing islands down Queen Street and tidying up kerbing.
  • Road closure from Clare Street to Hamilton Road is in place. There will be one overnight closure to allow for road surfacing.

23-28 January

  • Laying asphalt and kerbing on the eastern (lake side) of the roundabout.
  • Excavating Whitaker Street - this will eventually become a two-lane street.
  • Continuing to widen Victoria Street.

Road closure
The next big tick off the list is to dig out Victoria Street from Clare Street to Hamilton Road so we can lower the height of the road and resurface it.

To do this we need to close Victoria Street from Clare Street to Hamilton Road for two-three weeks. We understand this isn't ideal but closing the road will mean the work can be finished three weeks earlier.

The road closure will begin Wednesday 25 January and will only be in place while workers are onsite. The section of road will be opened again at the end of each day.

We're encouraging heavy traffic to use Taylor Street and Vogel Street. Normal commuters have a number of detour options but we suggest avoiding Taylor Street and Bowen Street where minor road improvements are also underway.

We apologise for the inconvenience, we're aiming to have the road opened as quick as possible.

Media Releases

Consultation

We asked the community for feedback on some key design decisions. Feedback closed on 3 August 2016. Results showed the community were supportive of the historic gates moving, wanted a feature tree on the roundabout and preferred the median strips to be a mixture of hard paving, gardeens and grass.

Read all about the decisions in the newspaper spread - It's all go in Cambridge.

The Plan

Roundabout

The new roundabout is being built on the intersection of Victoria and Cambridge Roads. Work started on 4 January 2017, the majority of work is expected to be completed by mid-April with landscaping and final touches planned for May.

The roundabout will feature a Japanese Maple tree in the middle and a band of paving around the outside.

Lake Te Koo Utu gates

The Lake Te Koo Utu gates were gifted to the community by the Cambridge Domain Board Committee in honour of Thomas Wells, the board chairman who helped develop the domain and Lake Te Koo Utu. The gates were originally commissioned to mark the entrance to the park.

We're moving the gates so they are more accessible to the community and appreciated, framing great viewpoints such as the St Andrews Anglican Church.

Also featured near Lake Te Koo Utu is a 13m high cross that was erected by a number of local church groups. The cross will not be moved or altered in anyway as part of this project.

Moving the gates to this location will create an entry point and frame the St Andrews Anglican Church.

Lake street

The landscape at the top of Lake Te Koo Utu is open and spacious, featuring some large important trees in grassed areas. We plan to continue this look by returning some of Lake Street back to grass.

The changes to the intersection means we can create a space that could become a perfect area for community activities - possibly a market, a sculpture park and a picnic area.

It will also eventually include a cycleway and pathway to the CBD.

Closing Lake Street also encourages a direct route for traffic through our main street and past our shops. It will also create new car park spaces.

Median strips

We're installing median strips that will run along Victoria Road and Queen Street.

These are being installed to make the road safer and include breaks for pedestrians to safely use while crossing the road.

The Median strips will be a mixture of paving (pictured) with feature grass and planting.

Lighting

We want to make sure appropriate lighting is used in the area. Lighting not only makes spaces safer, it also has an impact on how a space looks.

We are including lights that are a bit more stylish than the standard street lights and ones that suit the surrounding areas. For example on the median strips, we are using lights that are 7.5m high so they will sit under the tree canopy and we're using uplighting to emphasise some of the special features such as the Lake Te Ko Utu gates and significant trees.

We're also using pedestrian lighting to illuminate footpaths around the area.

Trees

Trees are important to Cambridge - they are part of our character and beautify our towns.

Trees have been a major consideration to the project design and where possible we have tried to design around them.

Eleven trees will need to be removed to accommodate changes to the road layout. The trees being removed are not protected and are generally the smaller ones in the area, they include cherry, maple arbutus and rowan varieties.

We'll be planting fourteen new trees as part of the project design. We're also landscaping the new recreation area and pathways. One protected tree was consented for removal as part of the Lakewood development. This was a female Gingko which wasn't suited to the urban environments and which would have created amenity issues in the future (while the gingko is an attractive-looking tree, it drops fruit which becomes smelly and makes footpaths very slippery).

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