Victoria tunnel delays to continue
DELAYS in the Terrace Tunnel upgrade means residents on the Terrace will have to manage with inconvenience, disruption and traffic diversions for a little longer.
The upgrade, which began last December, was to have been completed this month but the work is unfinished and regular tunnel closures can be expected to continue until December.
Rod James, state highways manager with the New Zealand Transport Authority says that given the complexity of the upgrade it was understandable that the time to complete the project has been adjusted.
“Work of this nature and extent is unprecedented in New Zealand,” James says. “We’ve already made considerable progress in improving the safety of the tunnel, and given the importance of these modern safety systems it’s crucial we get it right first time rather than run the risk of requiring ongoing work and disruption.”
It is understood a letter will be sent out to residents along the Terrace to let them know when the work will be completed.
In an email to a Terrace resident last week Steven Knowles of Wellington Tunnels Alliance, the contractor completing the upgrade, said work on the upgrade had taken longer “due to the complexity of designing, constructing and commissioning improvements to an existing tunnel”. He says regular tunnel closurers are expected until December and some further closures would be required after this date as part of the commissioning process and ongoing maintenance.
The upgrade, which began last December, was to have been completed this month but the work is unfinished and regular tunnel closures can be expected to continue until December.
Rod James, state highways manager with the New Zealand Transport Authority says that given the complexity of the upgrade it was understandable that the time to complete the project has been adjusted.
“Work of this nature and extent is unprecedented in New Zealand,” James says. “We’ve already made considerable progress in improving the safety of the tunnel, and given the importance of these modern safety systems it’s crucial we get it right first time rather than run the risk of requiring ongoing work and disruption.”
It is understood a letter will be sent out to residents along the Terrace to let them know when the work will be completed.
In an email to a Terrace resident last week Steven Knowles of Wellington Tunnels Alliance, the contractor completing the upgrade, said work on the upgrade had taken longer “due to the complexity of designing, constructing and commissioning improvements to an existing tunnel”. He says regular tunnel closurers are expected until December and some further closures would be required after this date as part of the commissioning process and ongoing maintenance.
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