The installation of a large box culvert under The Strand will affect traffic flows from McAlister Street into Whakatāne’s CBD for the next 10 weeks.

The four-metre by two-metre culvert replaces three 900 mm pipes and will quadruple the potential stormwater flow capacity from the area to the south of The Strand. The $430,000 project is part of a major upgrading of the area’s stormwater infrastructure, which is designed to reduce the incidence of surface flooding in the Apanui catchment. Other key projects include a recontouring of the canal system leading to the McAlister pump station and an upgrading which will more than double the station’s pumping capacity.

Work on the culvert installation will begin on Tuesday, 2 June and is expected to be completed in mid-August. During most of that period, road access will be restricted to a single lane, but full road closures will be required at times. Alternative access to the CBD from the west will be available via Bracken Street and Buddle Street, or from the south, via Commerce Street.

To avoid delays, the Whakatāne District Council advises motorists to use the alternative routes where possible.