Contractors at the Fraser Street and 15^th Avenue road works are racing to beat the rain forecast this week. Fraser Street was being bitumen sealed early Monday morning. Two coatings will complete that stage of the works and create a weather seal.

Chip sealing in process.

The completion of the bitumen sealing also opens the way for the contractors, Kerb and Concrete, to install the new traffic islands.

'It will be good to get it all done today,” says NZ Transport Agency project team manager Kevin Reid, 'but it's a stretch.”

The ‘foam' structural sub-surface, a mix of rock, bitumen and cement, can take some rain, but it's not ideal as it takes longer to dry out.

As the chip sealing is completed, the new traffic islands will be poured before the final asphalt concrete surface is laid.

New traffic light gantries are also being installed on Monday, but they will not be able to be commissioned until the asphalt concrete sealing is completed, and the signal loops can be installed in the road surface.

Monday is the sixth day of the road closure on Fraser Street with the closure expected to remain in place until January 22.

'This is one of the key stages of the operation,” says Kevin.

'We are continually keeping an eye on the weather, ticking each stage off, and getting more confidence that we are going to make the date.”

The closure of Fraser Street and reducing 15^th Avenue to a single lane in each direction is to reduce disruption for the public. The intention is to complete the major stages of the work on widening the intersection and introducing additional traffic lanes after the holiday peak and before the schools re-open.