Katherine Mansfield Drive Upgrade

The contractor has now completed the seal of Katherine Mansfield Drive.  Road marking and signs are to be completed shortly, along with minor culvert work.

A second seal coat will be carried out by Council at the end of this season.

This ends our website and mail drops on the upgrade.  Any issues or problems with the road can be reported to our Customer Services team at Upper Hutt City Council.  Details are below for your information. 

Email: askus@uhcc.govt.nz

Phone: 04 5272169

Report and request online: https://www.upperhuttcity.com/Services/Report-and-request

Alternatively, you can contact Kim O’Keeffe on 021387199 kim.okeeffe@uhcc.govt.nz who will forward your queries to the relevant person.

The contractor will be finishing off preparation and shaping work this week, ready for the first coat chipseal.

Once the road has been prepared and to give it time to dry out, traffic will be managed for the following week to prevent damage.

Following this the prepared surface will be chipsealed in early October.

There will be a temporary speed limit for at least a week after this. It is important that this speed limit is adhered to, to allow the chip time to settle and to avoid creating a danger to other road users from the loose chip that will continue to be present during that time. Protecting the road during this time will have a significant impact on the quality and durability of the new surface.

Once the road has been sealed, the only work remaining will be a second coat chipseal, which will carried out in either April 2023 or during the summer of 2023-2024.

Roil Contracting have carried out works on the existing unsealed surface, Friday 1 July.

Weather permitting, the contractor will return on Monday 4 July to commence work on the additional 100m to dig out, back fill and grade.

Work will also commence on the replacement of the 450 culvert.

It is proposed that the sealing of the road will take place in Spring 2022.

We appreciate the feedback we have received of late.  If you have any issues you would like to raise, please contact Kim O’Keeffe on 021387199 kim.okeeffe@uhcc.govt.nz who will forward your queries to the relevant person.

Like other contractors in the Wellington Region, Roil Contracting continue to be affected by staff absences due to COVID and the tight job market.

It is still hoped that if there is an extended period of good weather it will be possible to carry out at least some sealing of the unsealed section. Until then it will continue to be maintained but will need to be driven at slower speeds.

As previously stated, the Council has created this webpage to provide future updates rather than delivering paper copies.

Consent was recently granted for a subdivision on Katherine Mansfield Drive. This consent includes the extension of the public road, which is required to be upgraded as part of this subdivision.  

We have received questions, comments, and some concern from the community as this road construction requires the removal of vegetation. The current access to the new subdivision is across a private road which is unsealed and narrow. 

Here is an overview of what has happened so far and considerations taken into account by Council: 

Road extension 

The road is to be widened on the south-eastern side and will largely follow the existing roadway to allow for the subdivision development. This approach is being taken to minimise the removal of vegetation along the roadway. This also allows trees on the north-western side to remain.  

However, the trees on the south-west side do need to be removed because of their position in the future roadway, their age, and future maintenance issues which may arise. There are 11 trees in total from the forest stand (tree area) that need to be removed with the rest being preserved.   

The trees being removed are not protected by the District Plan or any other planning policy relevant to subdivision consent. And they are located in a legal road, the core purpose of which is to provide access.  

We assessed several options to minimise the impact on the vegetation.  

Options considered for road extension 

Tree assessment 

Our horticulture specialist visited the site and assessed the trees on both sides of the proposed road. He noted the trees were predominantly mature beech trees, with mixed species vegetation beneath.  

The veteran tree at the southwest end of the group of trees is in poor condition with approximately 50% of the canopy (leaves and branches) and several other trees have bracket fungus present, and this can be a sign of internal decay.  

Of the 11 trees planned for removal, two are dead and others showing signs of poor health. 

Seedlings 

At the City Development Committee meeting on 30 March, Councillors and members of the public spoke about the possibility of replanting seedling in the area. Council has invited the removal of these seedlings within the roped area if done so by 1 May 2022, for them to be planted on private property.

If you intend to collect seedlings, please park clear of the accessway to allow property owners to come and go. There may be construction traffic in the nearby area during the working week, so please take care.

More information 

View the report on the road extension on pages 47-50 of the 30 March City Development Committee agenda.

• The upgrade to the existing paper road on Katherine Mansfield Drive, to allow the new subdivision at the end of the road, will commence from 29 March 2022.

• The works will begin from the existing turning head on Katherine Mansfield Drive and progress to the entrance of the new subdivision.

• The first section has been sealed, and temporary road markings have been installed. Once the second seal coat has been applied the final road markings will be installed.
• For the next section, the first work planned is to extend or replace the cross road culverts to allow the road to be constructed to the correct width and to move the inlets away from the edge of the road to improve road safety.
• We are still working with the contractor to confirm a date when they are available to resume work. The current contracting environment, staff availability and COVID-19 are impacting this.
• While we confirm this date, we are arranging for the section to be graded to address potholes. Fulton Hogan aim to carry out this work this week provided staff are available.
• As part of the next stage, we will be looking at possible locations for the group of letterboxes at the start of what was previously the private road. With previous subdivisions New Zealand Post advises council that they will not extend the rural mail service and that mailboxes for any new properties would need to be at a single distribution point. In the case of Katherine Mansfield Drive, the current location has limited space and its location on a corner means it is not a safe place to stop. An option to address this is to create a lay-by area on the next section about to be constructed or in the existing turning head at the end of the current formed road as part of the upgrade work. This would allow it to be placed in a location with good visibility and have space for cars to turn once they have collected their mail. If you wish to comment or suggest alternatives options, please contact us.

With the fast approach of Christmas, there are three main parts to the work at present:

A. The first section of road is scheduled to be chipsealed on 17 December. Roils are currently working as fast as possible, given the recent poor weather, to have the base ready for this date. The important things to note about this are:

• This is the only date prior to Christmas that Fulton Hogans are available to carry out the work, as they are fully booked. Sealing is dependent on weather, so if the work is not carried out on Friday it will not be sealed until a new time slot is available in the new year.
• Once the sealing has been carried out, a 30 km/h temporary speed limit will be in place. This is both to allow time for the chip to bed in under traffic loading and for safety. The speed limit will be in place over the Christmas period, and it will stay in place until the road is swept.
• This is a first coat seal. It works in a way similar to a primer or undercoat of paint by preparing the surface for the top coat. As a result, there may be some variations in the surface texture, the appearance, and the wear of this chipseal. These may include loose chip and other defects. This will be addressed when the second coat seal is applied either at the end of this summer or next spring.

B. A contractor will be removing some pine trees and cutting back other trees in preparation for road construction continuing around the corner after Christmas.

C. The remaining sections of road will be tidied up to carry them over the Christmas break. 

Roil Contracting Limited were able to confirm that they would be resuming work on Katherine Mansfield Drive next week.

The work to be done in the upcoming weeks is:

A. The first section of road that was widened has been tested and is ready for the final dressing and sealing.

B. The culvert at the second right hand bend will be upgraded and extended. The culvert is being lengthened to ease the corner and to move the inlet and outlet away from the road edge. Both of these are being done for safety reasons. Easing the corner will help reduce the occurrences of vehicles crossing the centreline, while moving the ends away from the road will reduce the chances of a car that leaves the road driving into the drain. Replacing the culvert is necessary to comply with the resource consent conditions imposed by Greater Wellington.

C. The next section of road, that has already been widened, will continue to be monitored and will sealed once it has completed its settlement and is confirmed as ready.

D. The final section of formed road will also be widened over the coming months. As with the previous section the new road will be moved away from the open drain to reduce the problems caused by the high watertable, particularly in winter. The work will also include removing the trees at the start of this section and increasing the length of the small culverts along its length. The culvert at Black Creek will also need to be extended.

E. As part of the development at the end of the road, the developer will be forming the currently unformed section of road beyond the turning head. The final design for this section is still being resolved.

• Contractor has demobilised at this stage due to weather conditions but will maintain the site.
• Work on the first section (letterboxes to midway on first straight) is complete except for trimming and planting of berms, relocation of a power pole and telecom pillar.
• Weather at present is preventing further work on drainage at the site.  This work will recommence when it dries out - maybe late September / October.
• We are currently working on a resource consent for culvert upgrades/renewals. Once approval is received and conditions improve, we will program this work.
• We are looking at the removal of exotic trees in the roading corridor which may affect the build or cause long term issues with the road. While we could do this work in current weather it would likely make a mess of the berms, so this will be delayed.
• Once we get settled weather on the widened section, we can prepare the road and get the first section sealed.

• Work on the first section of road (approximately 500m) adjoining where the road side drain is to be relocated will be very weather dependent due to consent conditions. Work will be done as and when conditions enable this to occur. The road surface will be regularly maintained and kept in a safe condition.
• From the corner to the bush, will be dug out in sections and reinstated. This will be weather, materials and resource dependent. Each sector, once completed will be maintained.
• Subject to subdivision consent conditions and consultation with affected parties the section of road from the bush to the subdivision will be completed and pavement maintained.
• When the pavement has been completed and allowed to settle/consolidate the surface shall be chip sealed. It is expected that this will be early in the New Year.

We've heard the speed limit will be 60kph, is that true?

The current speed limit is 60kph. At this time there is no proposal to change it.

How wide will the road be?

The upgraded road will be 7.0 metres wide as far as the turning head. As discussed above the design for the section beyond that is still being discussed.

Will there be a footpath along the section of the road from the second 90 degree corner to the entrance to North Valley Estate

Along that section where the road has been moved sideways away from the open drain we are looking at how viable it is to use the old road formation to create a shared path. While a path would initially be isolated from the rest of the valley it would provide a local link between properties in the area, and could form part of a wider network in the future.

Will there also be a footpath on the rest of the road?

At this time, it is not planned to extend the path beyond the extent set out. This is something that will be consulted on as part of the rural shared paths programme.

We're concerned that the nature of the road will make it a magnet for street racing. What measures are being considered to deter illegal and/or anti-social driving behaviour?

That behaviour occurs on many roads, and there are few effective options to address it other than police enforcement.