Work to install a new water main up the eastern, hill section of Ōhope Road will commence next week. Contractor Draintech will be carrying out thrusting work and pipe installation, which will require the southern (uphill) road shoulder, from the bottom of the hill to Brown Road, to be closed to traffic from 10 September. There will be no right turn available into Brown Road for up to four weeks while work is carried out in that area.

After the lower section is completed, pipe thrusting will be undertaken on the remainder of the hill, from Brown Road to the Otarawairere Road intersection, with the shoulder and one of the two uphill lanes closed as work progresses. 

The existing 80 km/hr speed limit will continue to apply during the work period.

A portion of Mahy Reserve, south of the basketball court, will be fenced off and used as a contractor’s yard for the duration of the work, which is expected to be completed ahead of the Christmas season, weather permitting. The contractor’s yard will be used to store the pipes and project equipment, and to heat-weld the pipe sections together before they are installed.

Whakatāne District Council Manager Capital Projects, Jim Finlay, says the pipe renewal is necessary due to the age of the existing infrastructure. “We appreciate that there will be some inconvenience to the public, and particularly people living on Brown Road, and we apologise for that,” he says. “This type of renewal work is only required about every 70 years, so once it’s complete, it will be a considerable time before any similar disruption occurs.”

On completion of the pipe installation work, the section of Ōhope Road between the Brown Road and Cliff Road intersections will be resurfaced in hotmix. This road upgrade had been planned for 2017, but was held over due to the need to excavate and then reinstate access pits for the pipe installation.