Pookeno Main Street re-development

This project aims to create a safer, more attractive, and vibrant street environment. We want to improve the street's appeal, reflect Pokeno's uniqueness, and create a new town centre for social interaction.

Our goal is to transform the main street into a welcoming space for everyone, with safer pedestrian access, reduced speed, increased parking, and attractive amenities.

This project includes stormwater upgrade, new kerb and channel, new clay paver footpaths, new raised pedestrian crossing, new street furniture, streetlight upgrade and landscaping.

Once all works are completed the road will be resurfaced and line marked.

What you need to know

Hours of work: Monday to Saturday, 7am to 7pm.

Traffic management

While the work take place, we will have a one way traffic system in place (24/7) heading southbound from the motorway towards the town centre.

Northbound traffic will be detoured along McDonald Road onto Gateway Park Drive onto Hitchen Road and up along Great South Road.

There will be visual signboards at either end of the worksite notifying the public that all businesses are open for business as per usual.

Please plan ahead. We’ll set up signs that give traffic directions for surrounding roads. If you live somewhere along a closed road, traffic controllers at either end of the road will help you. Please follow all signs, light signals and traffic directions.

View the traffic management diagram here.

Parking

There will be some parking bay out of action during construction period.  We have made arrangements with Countdown and the Town Hall for there to be some parking available in these locations.  We will have signage up to let the public know.

View the parking diagram here.

Project update

19 April 2024 - What happened this week

Main Street

• Paving on the Main Street is really taking shape now. The roadside paving is done creating a one-meter-wide paved strip (that will be in use next week!). 
• Communication devices were installed at the traffic lights proving a link between Hitchen Road lights and the control centre in Hamilton. A radar at the top of both poles points just past the stop line to detect any cars waiting in a lane.
• Prep has been done for the new speed table across the pedestrian crossing. 
• The high temporary fences came down as the worst of our dust and debris work is complete. Great to see light shining on the shop fronts again! 
  

Roundabout

• We had the Hydrovac out to expose more underground services. The Hydrovac is an essential excavation tool for us to ensure we don’t cut anything we don’t want to. 
• Our project team has completed design work and the best ‘staging’ for the roundabout project. ‘Staging’ simply means how best to break down the entire project to logical seamless stages.  

What’s happening over the next week or 2: 

Main Street

• Paving will be our focus and we’ll be working in front of the shops next week. The crew will work in small sections fenced in with the low orange barriers. 
• Access paths will always be maintained to shops and pedestrians will switch over to walking on the new paved section of path. The sections of paving directly into shop entrances will be done in early morning shifts (before anyone opens for business). 
• The pedestrian crossing speed table will be poured with a mix of concrete and asphalt.
  

Roundabout

• 3 night shifts are planned for this Sunday, Monday, Tuesday to run drains across Great South Road to the Roundabout. These are essential works to complete before we get into excavation at the main site.  
• Wednesday we’ll switch back to a day shift and start excavating. 
  

Early heads-up: There’ll be a couple of nightshifts in the week beginning 6 May. These are to lay new asphalt pavement on the main street. This is a great indicator that the end of the Main Street project is in sight as paving the road surface is one of the latter steps we do. Yes there’ll be more finishing after this, but it’s getting close at this stage! 

Contacting the team

The construction team will have an information portacom situated on Market Street (next to the EV charger) and there will be a dedicated Stakeholder & Communications Manager – Brian Cathro - located there every Monday, 10am to 12pm, and Wednesday, 1pm to 3pm.

If you have any questions or concerns outside of these hours, please contact Brian at brian.cathro@waikatoalliance.co.nz

Thank you for your understanding and co-operation whilst we carry out these essential works.