Montreal St one lane from 26 April - day after Anzac Day - for three months

- other work Moorhouse and Colombo/ Bealey starting next week affect short-term picture

Montreal Street is going one-lane from Cambridge Terrace/the Avon River to Armagh Street/ Cranmer Square in a week, from the Friday after Anzac Day.

· The change will be in place for up to three months to late July.

· SCIRT delivery team Fletcher is replacing and repairing wastewater pipes in this area, part of a large network of central city work.

With several large office blocks and businesses in this area, workers as well as road users will be affected by the narrowing of a major one-way street that daily takes thousands of vehicles from south to north.

“The change coincides largely with the end of the first week of the school holidays. This will help ease pressure for the first week,” said SCIRT transport planning manager Angus Bargh.

“We know that the streets leading onto Montreal Street closer to the river are likely to experience delays during peak hours. There will be a local relief route off Montreal Street onto Cashel Street then Rolleston Avenue.

“People are encouraged to use alternative routes other than Montreal Street. These include Deans Avenue on the west side of Hagley Park, across to Madras Street and Fitzgerald Avenue on the east side of the central city. Manchester St is also open northbound now through the central city, although it is a slower route.

“People who normally travel along Hereford Street to get to work will need to come along Rolleston Avenue into Gloucester Street and then take Cambridge Terrace down to Hereford Street.”

Angus Bargh noted that two other pieces of SCIRT work – both shorter-term – are affecting traffic at the same time as the Montreal one-laning begins.

“Work in the Colombo St/ Bealey Avenue intersection, which starts 22 April at the start of the school holidays, means that Bealey Avenue is only one lane eastbound at that point. This is likely to cause delays in the afternoon peak.

“Consider alternatives to Bealey Avenue to get from the west across to the east, like Moorhouse Avenue and Salisbury Street. The SCIRT wastewater work should be out of Bealey Avenue and back into Colombo St within a fortnight, the end of the school holidays, freeing up Bealey Ave.

“Moorhouse Avenue is also having significant brick barrel work around the Colombo Street overbridge from 22 April for several weeks. This makes the westbound route along Moorhouse, currently two lanes, just one lane for two weeks. St Asaph Street, a one-way street, will provide a more reliable route west for the school holidays and potentially a week or more after that.”

The Moorhouse Avenue one-way westbound should be back to two lanes by the end of the school holidays in a fortnight’s time. As this work is on the stormwater pipes, it is highly weather dependent.

Electronic message boards would be advertising the changes to road users from today (19 April) for Montreal Street road users (along Moorhouse Ave leading towards Montreal and closer to Montreal), giving them a week’s notice.

Electronic message boards are already in use along Moorhouse Avenue and on Bealey Avenue for those shorter term projects. Residents and businesses in these areas have been kept in the picture and had works notices and timelines distributed.

Montreal Street works notice http://strongerchristchurch.govt.nz/work/activity/2884

Colombo / Bealey Avenue one way east works notice. http://strongerchristchurch.govt.nz/work/activity/2883

Moorhouse Avenue works notice – note stage two starts Monday 22 April. http://strongerchristchurch.govt.nz/work/activity/2796

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