Damaged seal on Severn St to be replaced

A month-long project to fix potholes on a major Oamaru thoroughfare, at a cost of nearly half a million dollars, will start next week.

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) announced yesterday that a $430,000 programme would start on Monday to give State Highway 1 (Severn St) a ''face-lift''.

NZTA Otago-Southland highway manager Ian Duncan said State Highway 1 between Lune and Itchen Sts had developed potholes and ruts and the road surface had cracked.

''The new road surface laid in 2010 has proven unsuitable for this section of the highway, resulting in higher than usual maintenance.

''The work that gets under way on Monday will see the installation of new kerb and channel, replacement of the road surface on the uphill section of this stretch of the highway and two coats of new seal.''

He said work would take five weeks to complete, during which time road users would be advised of delays, as well as access restrictions and closures at the intersection of Severn St with Lune and Itchen Sts and Douglas Tce.

The work would also provide improved and safer driving conditions, as well as a reduction of road noise for adjacent residents, he said.

Waitaki Ratepayers and Concerned Citizens Association vice-chairman Malcolm McKenzie said the state of the road had been a source of complaints from motorists around Oamaru, and the news that NZTA would address the issue was ''very welcome''.

- andrew.ashton@odt.co.nz