Kitchener Street Upgrade Work

The Times Age asked some questions around the Kitchener Street upgrade work. Our response is below, attributable to Mike Burger:

• How long has the Kitchener St road/footpath been closed so far? The closure was put in place on the week of 21 November 2022 (a week after the initially planned date). The contractor shut down for the Christmas break on 23 December 2022 and has now resumed work on the project site.
• Has work yet begun in the direct vicinity of the closed Kitchener St footpath? Work commenced on the week of 28 November 2022 from the western end of the project site (Kitchener Street / Kippenberger Street corner) where closure of the lime path was also essential. Work is expected to ramp up this month (weather permitting) with another subcontractor commencing on the major earthwork component.
• Given the long period of this work [6 months], instead of closing the road entirely, did the council consider leaving a smaller path of Kitchener St open for pedestrian thoroughfare while the upgrade work was undertaken? The decision to close the current lime path was made as a safety precaution for the community and pedestrians. Given the nature of the work there is no viable alternative walking route that could stay open alongside the current lime path.
• What is the nature of the upgrade work – what will be the final result? Kitchener Street will be extended to Gordon Street. This will include drainage improvements, stormwater and other services upgrade, removal of lime path and construction of new concrete footpath and replacing the old paper road with a newly formed granular pavement sealed road.
• Does MDC consider it reasonable to close a pedestrian route for 6 months to allow for infrastructure work? MDC considers public safety as paramount around roadworks like these. While council recognises this is a temporary inconvenience for users of the lime path, it does ensure site safety requirements can be met by Westwood Civil as they undertake work required for the Kitchener St upgrade project.
• Would MDC ever do that for a vehicle road? Yes, where that road could not be used by vehicles while work was underway or where road user safety required it.