With preparations underway for the reopening of lower Stuart Street as scheduled later this week, DCC is thanking the public and the business community for their patience and understanding over the past several months.

The section of lower Stuart Street between Moray Place and the Octagon has been the site of essential pipe replacement work since May, as part of the Bath Street Pipe Upgrade Project.

“While we have attempted to minimise inconvenience as much as possible, we know the works and the road closure have been disruptive for the public and for lower Stuart Street businesses,” says Infrastructure Services Committee Chair, Councillor Jim O’Malley.

“We also realise these have come at a time when businesses across New Zealand have been contending with challenging economic conditions. We’re incredibly grateful to lower Stuart Street property owners, tenants and residents for their patience while we carried out this essential work, and we are pleased to be reopening the road on schedule on 1 November – early in the cruise ship season.”

DCC Senior Project Manager Susil Gunathilake says the lower Stuart Street works involved digging – and later refilling – a large, five-metre-deep excavation to unearth historical pipes dating back as far as 1887, which meant cutting through asphalt and concrete, and digging through layers of old fill.

Before replacing the pipes, sheet piles had to be installed inside the excavation site to protect workers and the surrounding buildings.

“Normally these piles would be ‘vibrated’ in, but to safeguard local heritage buildings, they were ‘pushed’ in instead,” Mr Gunathilake explains. “The excavation site has since been filled in, and hoardings are being removed in preparation for reopening the block to traffic this Friday.”

The focus of the project team now moves to replacing pipes on Bath Street in the area labelled ‘Work Zone D’ in the attached map. As illustrated, this section of the street will be closed to traffic, though pedestrian access will be maintained. Vehicles will be able to access to Bath Street from both George and Stuart Streets, up to the boundary of Work Zone D.

“Most of the work in Work Zone D is scheduled for completion at the end of January 2024, however some minor finishing work can be expected beyond this date. Following that, we will continue working our way along Bath Street towards George Street,” says Mr Gunathilake.

“In addition, we are rerouting pipes beneath the floor of the building at 326 Moray Place, where we have already connected new pipe to the brick barrel main located in Moray Place.”

Archaeologists are on-site, and the excavation has revealed some interesting heritage structures.

“We discovered makeshift wooden steps we believe were put in by the workers who constructed the mains more than a century ago. The work also exposed foundations of the horse stables that used to occupy part of the 326 Moray Place site, which were built from brick and bluestone rock in 1869.”

All pipe replacement work on Bath Street is expected to be finished at the end of April 2025, while the roading upgrade on Bath Street is scheduled for completion in October 2025.

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