Major drainage works in Matata will see the closure of Arawa Street for around two weeks as the water table is lowered below the road surface.

The works are required in order to bring the ground under the road to a standard where contractors can successfully resurface the road.

Whakatane District Council infrastructure acting general manager Paula Chapman says the road will be closed from May 4.

'The road had deteriorated markedly over the 18 months before repairs commenced in March.

'When the work got underway, the contractors found it impossible to obtain the standard of compaction needed for resealing to be successful and investigations showed the high water table was causing the problem.”

Paula says to achieve a permanent solution, they will construct and backfill a drain along the landward side of Arawa Street, with lateral drains taking the water collected to the Matatā Lagoon.

She says the work will be undertaken as quickly as possible so that the disruption to residents and through traffic is minimised.

'Electronic boards will be placed to divert traffic around the road closure area.

'Progress will be weather-dependent and we apologise in advance for the inconvenience the closure will cause.”