The intersection of Middleton Rd, Riccarton Rd and Ilam Rd – which Christchurch City Council says is ranked the seventh most dangerous in the city – will be upgraded to improve safety for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.
The work includes:
- Only allowing left-turning traffic to move between Riccarton Road and Middleton Road, which will effectively make the junction of Ilam and Riccarton roads a T-intersection.
- Altering the layout of the intersection to accommodate dedicated bus lanes.
- Restricting access at the Field Terrace/Riccarton Road intersection to left in, left out traffic.
- Creating a new right-turn only lane from Riccarton Road into Wharenui Road.
- The upgrade also covers drainage work, new traffic lights and islands, and line marking.
At the same time, work will continue on the Nor’West Arc cycleway, said council transport planning and delivery manager Lynette Ellis.
The new cycleway links routes across the west of the city, running from The Princess Margaret Hospital to Papanui. It is a key connector for the west of the city, passing nine schools, Ellis said.
This section runs along Middleton Rd, between Suva St and Riccarton Rd, and on Ilam Rd, between Riccarton Rd and University Drive. At University Drive it connects to Uni-Cycle, a cycle route between the University of Canterbury and the central city.
Ellis said contractors are also completing storm water, sewer and water work, including new kerbs and channels and landscaping.
The integrated approach to the two projects “will minimise any disruption to road users”.
"We want to finish both projects by October," she says.
"We will need to introduce one-way traffic in the area for short periods and remove some on-street parking but the end result will benefit everyone.
"The new cycleway and intersection improvements will make it much safer for everyone to navigate the area and greatly improve cycling connections.
"The cycleway work is part of a lot of cycle connections being built through Riccarton with the Nor’West Arc route providing a north to south connection through the suburb and the South Express cycleway providing an east to west link.”
Find out more about the intersection upgrade and the Nor'West Arc cycleway.
