A SECTION of Thornton Road will be closed from Monday and detours in place as renewal works begin on the underlying road structure.

Whakatāne District Council is advising motorists to expect interruptions to their normal travel in the coming months with renewal works planned at three sites within the Rangitaiki Plains.

The initial focus is on Thornton Road, between the intersection of West Bank/Thornton Beach Road and Greig Road, following after Labour Weekend by West Bank Road ‘North’, between Thornton Road and Greig Road.

Work is targeted for completion on these two sites by December 13, weather permitting.

The second portion of West Bank Road (West Bank ‘South’) will close in early January for work to be completed by April 2025, weather permitting. This section of West Bank Road will be closed between Gow Road and property number 504 West Bank Road.

Whakatāne District Council team leader capital projects Dave Wathall says the pavement in these areas has reached the end of its life and is currently incurring high maintenance costs.

“Roads deteriorate over time and the existing pavement at all three sites is in poor condition with significant cracking and defects,” said Mr Wathall.

“These works will improve the overall standard and safety of the Whakatāne district roading network, while reducing the burden of on-going costs associated with patch up work in these areas,” he said.

Mr Wathall said a new nationwide risk-based approach to traffic management would be applied to the project, meaning the roads would close during the works, reducing costs and improving worker safety.

“We appreciate the disruption road closures cause, however completing these works under a full road closure, as opposed to stop/go, or temporary traffic lights, reduces resources and construction time, while ensuring a safer working environment, with the added benefit of reducing the length of disruptions for road users.”

It is estimated that the road closures will achieve an overall project cost saving of between 10 and 15 percent, and a time saving of up to 20 percent.

Mr Wathall said short detours would be in place to ensure safety and efficiency throughout the works.

“Motorists entering Whakatāne district from the west (Matatā / Tauranga) will be detoured via State Highway 2 between Matatā and Awakeri, and SH30 between Awakeri and Whakatāne.”

Greig Road may also be used as a detour, however, due to the narrowness of the road, there will be a reduced speed limit in place.

Thornton Beach Road residents will be detoured via East Bank Road to access Edgecumbe and SH2.

“These detours will lead to additional traffic making use of the state highway network and there may be approximately five minutes added to your usual travel time.”

Access on the closed roads will be maintained at all times for residents, emergencies, businesses located within the site and school buses.

“We encourage everyone to stay up to date with detour information, plan ahead for this, consider carpooling where possible, and allow more time to get to where you need to be.”

The works are approved under the current long-term plan budget.

Schedule

• Thornton Road (between the intersection of West Bank / Thornton Beach Road and Greig Road) will be open to residents only from October 14 to December 13. The work site is between property numbers 880-954 Thornton Road. This section of road will be closed to all other traffic during this time.
• West Bank ‘North’ (between Thornton Road and Greig Road) will remain open until after Labour Weekend. West Bank “North” will be open to residents only from October 29 to December 13.

    The work site is from the Thornton Road intersection up to 98 West Bank Road.      This section of road will be closed to all other traffic during this time.

• West Bank “South” (between Gow Road and property number 504 West Bank Road) will be open to residents only from mid-January to March 2025. This section of road will be closed to all other traffic during this time.

Detours

• Motorists travelling along Thornton Road, going in a westerly direction, are to turn off at East Bank Road and travel to SH2, then Edgecumbe, making their way to their planned destination.
• Motorists travelling along Thornton Road, going in an easterly direction, are to turn off at Greig Road and travel to West Bank Road, then Edgecumbe, making their way to their planned destination.
• Motorists travelling from Whakatāne to Tauranga are to make use of SH30 and SH2.
• Motorists travelling from Tauranga to Whakatāne are to make use of SH2 and SH30.