Roadworks return to Wensley

Wensley Rd residents would be forgiven for feeling like they’re stuck in Groundhog Day after Tasman District Council announced yet more roadworks for the busy Richmond street.

Over the past 12 months, the street has been subject to what the mayor once described as “interminable” roadworks.

A new wall and wider footpath were installed in February 2024, the road structure was temporarily strengthened in April, traffic calming and active travel infrastructure for cyclists was installed in May, some speed humps that were installed in May were removed in August after resident backlash, and, to aggravate matters further, the road’s bitumen melted in the unseasonal December heat.

But these next works, which are scheduled to begin next Monday and will close the road between the Richmond Cemetery and Waverley Rd for almost three months, look set to be the last in the immediate future.

The works are a complete rebuild of the road structure which was built almost 50 years ago and can’t withstand the current 8500 vehicles that travel along it each day.

The strengthened road is hoped to future-proof the route for “decades to come”.
In addition to making the road stronger, the street will also widen the narrow section at the top of the hill by 1.5 metres.

By widening the street, the council will create room for cycle lanes on each side of the road and therefore will see the removal of the 30kmh speed zone and speed cushions that were initially installed to protect cyclists merging into traffic on the narrow section by slowing traffic.

Either end of Wensley Rd, which aren’t being worked on during this closure, will continue to be monitored for deterioration on an ongoing basis.
The council attempts to prolong the life of the roads as long as possible before reconstructing them as it is an expensive process.

The work conducted in April 2024 was always envisaged as a temporary fix of the weak road before the comprehensive works were scheduled to get underway this month.

Unseasonably hot weather in early December also caused the new bitumen on the road, added during the April works, to melt. The wall work conducted in February 2024 will not be affected by the project beginning next week, but the wider footpath will be narrowed slightly to allow space for the cycle lanes. Coal tar is expected to be unearthed during the works, complicating the project as it must be specially handled.