Howard Road water pipe renewal
We are renewing the ageing drinking water pipe in Howard Road on behalf of Hutt City Council to improve the resilience and reliability of the network and reduce the risk of land slippage.
If you have any questions about this work, please contact:
Wellington Water, 04 912 4400
Latest Updates
The crew has completed lateral connections around the lower Nikau/Howard Road junction as well as connecting up the two drill shots completed in the last two weeks.
Our crews have been focused on installing lateral connections, which will later connect into the new watermain heading down Howard Road toward Church Lane.
Crews have achieved a major milestone completing pipelaying down to the bottom junction of Nikau Road with Howard Road, along with reinstating the trench.
The first phase of works [Stage 1] was completed in April 2024.
There are three phases left with stage 2 and 4 works starting in May 2024.
Pedestrian access will remain open throughout. No work will be done on public holidays or weekends, so the road will remain open.
Works programme:
Stage 1
59 Howard Rd to 2 Ngaumatu Road - COMPLETED
Stage 2
Location: 67 Howard Rd to 90 Howard Rd
Timeframe: 6 May - estimated completion 12 weeks.
Most residents will have normal access, excluding 67 Howard Road and up.
Road closure 8:30am to 4:30pm.
Stage 3
Location: Reserve area adjacent to 90 Howard Rd.
Timeframe: Requires consents from the Regional Council to allow the works to progress. Consent application has been submitted, awaiting outcome.
Stage 4
Timeframe: Monday 20 May – estimated completion before Christmas, with possible extension into the New Year depending on conditions.
Area of work: Starting at Howard Road below the upper intersection with Nikau Road down to Howard/Westhill intersection - (Church Lane included).
Works are phased, with sections of the road closed 24/7 but with active traffic management in place during work hours of 8am to 4:30pm daily. Residents will have managed access throughout.
Current work section (May-July) : Middle section of Howard Road between upper and lower Nikau Road intersections.
* Work effort, delays and forecast completion
Please note that the times provided above are based on actual work effort. However,
weather or other unexpected events may extend these timeframes. For example, five
days’ pipelaying work effort could take two or more weeks to complete in the event
of wet weather as electric fusion welding requires dry conditions.
Realistically, we are expecting up to two weeks of delays (weather, hardness of the
rock, other events outside the team's control)
Why are we doing this work?
The pipe has a history of significant leaks which, combined with heavy rainfall, contributed to a large landslide on 14 March 2023 resulting in loss of power and drinking water to 165 homes in Point Howard.
Its complete renewal was accelerated and will improve the resilience and reliability of the network and reduce the risk of further slippage.
What's involved?
The first stage involved slip remediation works led by Hutt City Council and completed in December 2023.
Construction of the new water pipe along Howard Road started in January 2024 and will be done in four stages as outlined below.
Howard Road will be closed to vehicles in sections where work is underway between the hours of 8:30am to 4:30pm Monday to Friday for Stage 1 and 2 works and 7:30am to 4:30pm for Stage 3 and4. Pedestrian access will remain throughout. No work will be done on public holidays.
Works programme:
Stage 1
59 Howard Rd to 2 Ngaumatu Road - COMPLETED
Stage 2
67 Howard Rd to 90 Howard Rd - underway
Most residents will have normal access, excluding 67 Howard Road and up.
Stage 3
Reserve area adjacent to 90 Howard Rd.
Still in planning phase requiring consents from the Regional Council to allow the works to progress
Stage 4
Howard Road below the upper intersection with Nikau Road. 53 Howard Rd to 2A Nikau Rd.
From May 20, 2024 Starting at Howard Road below the upper intersection with Nikau Road down to Howard/Westhill intersection - (Church Lane included).
Estimated completion before Christmas, with possible extension into the New Year depending on conditions.
Works are phased, with sections of the road closed 24/7 but with active traffic management in place during work hours of 8am to 4:30pm daily. Residents will have managed access throughout.
We will work closely with the community to minimise impacts as much as possible.
All Updates
Our contractors CCL's focus next week, will be doing some final tests on the new pipe and asphalting the remaining area from the hairpin down to the bottom junction with Nikau Road. This means that by the end of next week, the installation of the main pipe between the upper and lower Nikau Road junctions is expected to be completed. The crew will be back later on to connect all the properties to the new pipe during the commissioning phase.
The crew will also be finishing off toby connections down to Church Lane.
On Thursday and Friday next week, the crew are planning on returning to the Stage 2 area – 67 Howard Rd to 90 Howard Rd – to carry out potholing investigations. This is to prepare for laying pipe and connecting into the work Action Civil completed earlier in the year. This work will be done a later stage and we will let you know more closer to the time.
Stop-go traffic management will be in place during work hours. A sucker truck will also be accessing the area.
Our crews are expecting to lay around 118 metres of pipe with minimal excavation next week.
Once that is completed, they will continue lateral connections. The one-way traffic system will remain in place.
Meanwhile, remedial work is ongoing in the upper section of Nikau/Howard Road. They will then move onto remedial work in the next section, which involves navigating the tricky hairpin bend.
To complete this section safely and as quickly as possible, the hairpin bend will be closed completely for three days. Vehicular access will be maintained from the bottom and top sections of Nikau Road. However, residents will need to park their vehicles outside of the closed off area. CCL will door knock affected residents in advance of this and ensure any special needs are met.
Once the remedial work is complete, the new pipe will be pressure tested.
Thank you
As always, a big thanks for your continued patience while we carry out these essential works.
Next week
Some of the Howard Road crew will start remedial work on the compromised pipe welds, commencing near the top junction with Nikau Road.
As with the initial pipelaying, the worksite will move down the road for each section, with excavation, rewelding and reinstatement being completed in one lot to reduce disruption to residents.
Access will be maintained from the top and bottom Nikau Road junctions during the day and the road will be open at night. The crew will also door knock residents in advance of each section to ensure they are aware of the work and any access requirements.
They expect the remedial work to take around two weeks. Traffic management will be in place around the worksite. Once the remedial work is complete, the new pipe will be pressure tested.
Meanwhile, the rest of the crew will be starting work pipelaying down Howard Road from the bottom junction with Nikau Rad. The road will be reduced to one lane with stop-go traffic management in place.
The Church Lane crew will continue investigations and potholing down Howard Road from the Church Lane intersection to confirm alignment of the new pipe.
Stop-go traffic management will remain in place around the worksites with traffic controllers on site.
Thank you
As always, a big thanks for your continued patience while we carry out these essential works.
All our contractors welcome the support, kindness and understanding of residents in Church Lane and Howard Road.
As a result of the weather this week, asphalting of Howard Road and Church Lane has been delayed until next week.
All the pipe is now in the ground in Church Lane and the fire hydrant connected. Once asphalting has been completed, the worksite will move out of this section. The final pipe connections will be done at a later stage.
Next week
Alongside asphalting, the Howard Road crew will continue pipelaying down towards the bottom intersection with Nikau Road.
Meanwhile, the Church Lane crew will asphalt the trench and will then be pressure testing the new the pipe. They will also start potholing work down Howard Road to locate services and plan alignment for the next phase of work. Stop-go traffic management will remain in place around the worksite with traffic controllers on site.
At this stage, the works are on target to finish in December.
Thank you
As always, a big thanks for your continued patience while we carry out these essential works.
In Howard Road. the crew has laid another 55m of pipe down to number 24 Howard Road, as well as backfilling and asphalting the trench line.
Meanwhile, the Church Lane crew have now laid a total of 60m of pipe reaching up to the Church Lane T-junction. They have also started preparing for pipe drilling, the trenchless method they will be using to complete the rest of Church Lane.
Remaining work programme as at August 2024
Stage 3 Location: Reserve area adjacent to 90 Howard Rd.
Timeframe: The consent application required for this work is still being considered by Greater Wellington Regional Council.
Stage 4
Location: Starting at Howard Road below the upper intersection with Nikau Road down to Howard/Westhill roads intersection - (Church Lane included).
Timeframe: estimated completion before Christmas, with possible extension into the New Year depending on conditions.
Works are phased, with sections of the road closed 24/7 but with active traffic management in place during work hours of 8am to 4:30pm daily. Residents will have managed access throughout.
Current work sections:
Middle section of Howard Road between upper and lower Nikau Road intersections – expected completion, end of August.
Church Lane - expected completion, mid-late August.
As always, a big thanks for your continued patience while we carry out these essential works.
While Stage 2 works are finished, a crew will be back at a later date to connect the new watermain into the network. This will be done after Stage 3 has been completed and will involve several days work, conditions permitting.
Stage 3 is in the reserve area adjacent to 90 Howard Rd and requires a resource consent from Greater Wellington Regional Council. We are awaiting approval for the consent.
Once granted, work will start immediately and is expected to take around two months to complete. We will provide residents with an update when this is ready to start.
We want to thank you for your patience and support during the Stage 2 works. Our contractors have certainly appreciated the home-baked goodies!
The Howard Road crew will continue trenching and pipelaying down from around
number 32 Howard Road to the next corner.
The Church Lane crew will continue trenching and pipelaying from the back end. The
plan is to use the trenchless method of pipe drilling for the front end of the street.
Meanwhile, in Stage 2 works Action Civil has successfully completed pipe testing and
will be reinstating the trench line early next week. Once this is completed, Stage 2 will
be complete, and the road will reopen.
Thank you
As always, a big thanks for your continued patience while we carry out these
essential works.
The focus for CCL this week has been potholing and finalising the alignment of the new pipe down to the Howard/Westhill roads intersection.
Pipelaying work has been put on hold following quality assurance tests by CCL which identified that some welds are compromised.
We are working with the project team and contractor to further investigate.
These quality checks are in place to ensure the resilience and reliability of the new pipes and CCL has been conscientious in
stopping work while investigations are carried out.
Next week
From Monday, 29 July, CCL will be bringing a second crew on site to start work in Church Lane. This will involve potholing and once completed the crew will start trenching and pipelaying from the back end of the street. This work will impact access and parking for residents and CCL are working closely with residents to support their access needs.
CCL is also planning to start trenching work from number 34 Howard Road down.
Stage 2
With pipelaying completed for Stage 2c last week, Action Civil is now working on Stage 2d and has commenced pressure testing the new pipe. We’re now expecting Stage 2d to be completed by early August, ahead of schedule, due to excellent progress made by our team and good weather.
As a reminder, during this period of work the road will be closed from 67 to 90 Howard Rd. Parking on the road will still be open after hours as usual.
Usual reminders during the works:
- Kerbside rubbish and recycling collection will continue throughout the works facilitated by Construction Contracts Ltd (CCL). Please put your rubbish/recycling bins out before 8am and CCL will collect them and take them to a designated point for Hutt City Council’s contractors. They will return them to your gate later in the day. CCL has distributed letters including numbered stickers to put on your bins, so CCL knows where to return them to.
- Please do not park in Howard Rd during the works as this is the crew’s main thoroughfare and parked vehicles may mean trucks cannot exit/enter the site.
- Your postie is trying to deliver mail outside of the road closure times but, if this can’t be done, mail will be held at the Eastbourne Four Square.
- Send a ‘fob request’ form to savage.glenn@gmail.com if you want to use the parking area by the boat ramp in Seaview Marina.
Thank you
As always, a big thanks for your continued patience while we carry out these essential works.
It's been productive week with CCL's crew having successfully trenched and laid 30m of pipe this week. They have also started potholing further down the road. Action Civil crew has also made excellent progress completing all pipelaying for Stage 2 up to the start of the reserve.
Next week the CCL crew will be continuing potholing work to locate services for planning the pipe alignment for the next phase of works. There will also be ongoing quality checking with the pipe weld tests. We are expecting work in Church Lane to commence in the week beginning 29 July and CCL will be working closely with residents to support access to the site.
Stage 2
Great progress made with pipelaying for Stage 2b completed. Pipelaying for 2c is ahead of schedule, with three lateral final house connections to be completed on Friday.
Our crew will commence Stage 2d next week, focusing on resurfacing the trench line for the Stage 2b and 2c areas, and starting testing of the new pipe.
For this period of work, the road will be closed from 67 to 90 Howard Road but Action Civil will work with residents to enable access to properties as required.
Please note that on Thursday and Friday, cars in Stage 2b and 2c areas (marked in yellow and green below) before 8.30am to allow for reinstatement works to be completed.
Usual reminders during the works:
- Kerbside rubbish and recycling collection will continue throughout the works facilitated by Construction Contracts Ltd (CCL). Please put your rubbish/recycling bins out before 8am and CCL will collect them and take them to a designated point for Hutt City Council’s contractors. They will return them to your gate later in the day. CCL has distributed letters including numbered stickers to put on your bins, so CCL knows where to return them to.
- Please do not park in Howard Rd during the works as this is the crew’s main thoroughfare and parked vehicles may mean trucks cannot exit/enter the site.
- Your postie is trying to deliver mail outside of the road closure times but, if this can’t be done, mail will be held at the Eastbourne Four Square.
- Send a ‘fob request’ form to savage.glenn@gmail.com if you want to use the parking area by the boat ramp in Seaview Marina.
Thank you
As always, a big thanks for your continued patience while we carry out these essential works.
Our team have continued to make good progress around the hairpin bend, laying another 25 m of pipe to reach a total of 220m of pipe laid.
Courtesy of the sunny weather, the team are on track with the work programme.
Trenching and pipelaying from number 34 Howard Road will continue next week as well as investigations into the cause of the waterlogged area. The sucker truck will also be on site to carry out potholing to locate services for planning the pipe alignment for the next phase of works.
Weather permitting, asphalting will be completed on Monday.
Stage 2
We have made good progress this week with all pipelaying in the Stage 2b area completed. Asphalting of this area however has been pushed out to next week because the crew were called away to deal with a large water shutdown. Weather permitting, we expect to complete this work and reopen the road for residents up to and including 79 Howard Rd early next week.
Usual reminders during the works:
- Kerbside rubbish and recycling collection will continue throughout the works facilitated by Construction Contracts Ltd (CCL). Please put your rubbish/recycling bins out before 8am and CCL will collect them and take them to a designated point for Hutt City Council’s contractors. They will return them to your gate later in the day. CCL has distributed letters including numbered stickers to put on your bins, so CCL knows where to return them to.
- Please do not park in Howard Rd during the works as this is the crew’s main thoroughfare and parked vehicles may mean trucks cannot exit/enter the site.
- Your postie is trying to deliver mail outside of the road closure times but, if this can’t be done, mail will be held at the Eastbourne Four Square.
- Send a ‘fob request’ form to savage.glenn@gmail.com if you want to use the parking area by the boat ramp in Seaview Marina.
Thank you
As always, a big thanks for your continued patience while we carry out these essential works.
The pipe has been laid all the way around the hairpin bend in the road to number 38 Howard Road bringing the total to around 195m. This was a challenging part of the section so the total amount of pipe laid was lower than usual at 17m. Good progress is being made to lay another 24m of pipe despite some heavy rain this week.
Our team have also completed potholing investigations as part of planning for the next section of work. This will also help with identifying the cause of a waterlogged area around 34 Howard Road. Should a leak be identified, resolution will be managed via our Customer Operations Group.
Our focus next week will be to continue work on trenching and pipelaying as well as making water connections to properties around the hairpin. This work should not affect any residents' accessways. Howard Road access will be via both the upper and lower junctions with Nikau Road.
Our crew will also be doing a walkover of the next phase of works right down to the bottom of Howard Road as part of developing a plan for this section.
Stage 2
Good progress has been made this week with another 24m of pipe laid and connections to two properties. However, heavy rain during the week has delayed fully completing work in the Stage 2b area. All going well, by the end of next week the road should reopen to residents up to and including 79 Howard Road.
Usual reminders during the works:
- Kerbside rubbish and recycling collection will continue throughout the works facilitated by Construction Contracts Ltd (CCL). Please put your rubbish/recycling bins out before 8am and CCL will collect them and take them to a designated point for Hutt City Council’s contractors. They will return them to your gate later in the day. CCL has distributed letters including numbered stickers to put on your bins, so CCL knows where to return them to.
- Please do not park in Howard Rd during the works as this is the crew’s main thoroughfare and parked vehicles may mean trucks cannot exit/enter the site.
- Your postie is trying to deliver mail outside of the road closure times but, if this can’t be done, mail will be held at the Eastbourne Four Square.
- Send a ‘fob request’ form to savage.glenn@gmail.com if you want to use the parking area by the boat ramp in Seaview Marina.
Thank you
As always, a big thanks for your continued patience while we carry out these essential works.
The progress continues with trenching and pipelaying. Given the nature of this area (the hairpin bend), levels of parking disruption will increase. However, as always, our crew will be working with affected residents to manage this.
The crew will door knock houses where access will be temporarily impacted and leave a note in the letterbox outlining the disruption.
The focus is on backfilling (after pipe laying and trenching) the same day so we can open up access at night. This may not always be possible, but CCL will try to keep the inconvenience to a minimum.
Stage 2 works
Action Civil are restarting Stage 2 works with trenching and pipelaying. Next week, they aim to lay another 24 metres of pipe weather permitting.
Usual reminders during the works:
- Kerbside rubbish and recycling collection will continue throughout the works facilitated by Construction Contracts Ltd (CCL). Please put your rubbish/recycling bins out before 8am and CCL will collect them and take them to a designated point for Hutt City Council’s contractors. They will return them to your gate later in the day. CCL has distributed letters including numbered stickers to put on your bins, so CCL knows where to return them to.
- Please do not park in Howard Rd during the works as this is the crew’s main thoroughfare and parked vehicles may mean trucks cannot exit/enter the site.
- Your postie is trying to deliver mail outside of the road closure times but, if this can’t be done, mail will be held at the Eastbourne Four Square.
- Send a ‘fob request’ form to savage.glenn@gmail.com if you want to use the parking area by the boat ramp in Seaview Marina.
Thank you
As always, a big thanks for your continued patience while we carry out these essential works.
Next week
The trenching and pipelaying is on track, with the target to reach 54 Howard Road next week.
The crew will door knock houses where access will be temporarily impacted and leave a note in the letterbox outlining the disruption.
Ideally, the crew will lay the pipe and backfill the same day to enable access at night. This may not always be possible, but we will try to keep the inconvenience to a minimum.
Please note, as advised in our last update, the shuttle service has been stopped as it is no longer required.
Thank you
As always, a big thanks for your continued patience while we carry out these essential works.
Stage 4 works
The crew are now prepped for asphalting the backfilled top section which they completed by the end of the week.
With this section completed, the fenced worksite area will be shifted down past number 66 Howard Rd. One lane will open at the upper junction with Nikau Road to provide managed access for residents in the upper area only.
Other residents have managed access to Howard Road from the lower junction with Nikau Road.
The 24/7 road closure remains in place with active traffic management during work hours 8am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday
There is no access to or from Howard Road at the top junction with Nikau Road until the watermain replacement in this section is completed and the trench backfilled. This closure affects pedestrian, cyclist and vehicular access.
The crew will continue trenching and pipelaying. Where the works pass access points/driveways/garages, CCL crew will door knock the affected house and leave a note in the letterbox outlining the disruption. The crew will endeavour to trench, lay the pipe and backfill the same day so as to open up access at night. This may not always be possible, but CCL will try to keep the inconvenience to a minimum.
Meanwhile, Stage 2 works will commence again next Thursday (June 6). There will be no works on Monday, June 3 due to the public holiday.
Thank you
As always, a big thanks for your continued patience while we carry out these essential works.
On Tuesday, the road closed to through traffic in the middle section of Howard Road between the Nikau Road intersections. Works started at the Upper Nikau/Howard Rd intersection (see image right).
By Friday the crew trenched down to 60 Howard Road, encountering some hard rock along the way which slowed things down a bit.
The road closure is in place 24/7 with active traffic management during work hours 8am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday. Residents have managed access to Howard Road from the lower junction with Nikau Road.
There is no access to or from Howard Road at the top junction with Nikau Road until the watermain replacement in this section is completed and the trench backfilled. This closure affects pedestrian, cyclist and vehicular access.
The crew will continue trenching and pipelaying aiming to have laid 33 metres of new water pipe and backfilled the trench (down to number 60) by Wednesday.
The fenced worksite area will then move down the road as the crew commence trenching and pipelaying on the next section. The road closure will remain in place, with one lane opening at the upper junction with Nikau Road to provide managed access for residents only.
Where the works pass access points/driveways/garages, CCL crew will door knock the affected house and leave a note in the letterbox outlining the disruption. He crew will endeavour to trench, lay the pipe and backfill the same day so as to open up access at night. This may not always be possible, but CCL will try to keep the inconvenience to a minimum.
Stage 2
Works will be temporarily on hold for one to three weeks. This is due to limited workers in the region and an urgent project. Action Civil’s crew will be called away to complete this work. The Stage 2 road area will remain open during this time and the trench is backfilled and asphalted.
Where possible, Action Civil may be able to mobilise crew back to Howard Road during this time. If this occurs residents will be notified.
Thank you
As always, a big thanks for your continued patience while we carry out these essential works.
Works commence on Stage 4.1 (upper Nikau/Howard Road intersection to 54 Howard Rd) on Monday 20 May.
Please note, the road will remain open all day as the crew will be mobilising on site and carrying out site induction and health and safety briefings.
From Tuesday, the road will be closed 8am to 4.30pm daily, with works commencing at the upper Nikau/Howard Road intersection with trenching and pipe laying.
We have updated the work programme as below, providing estimated timeframes for each stage, based on actual work effort required.
As noted in last week’s update rubbish collection will continue as normal facilitated by CCL. See ‘reminder’ section below for more information.
Stage 2
Location: 67 Howard Rd to 90 Howard Rd
Timeframe: Monday 6 May – estimated to take 12 weeks to complete.
Road closure: 8.30am to 4:30pm
Stage 3
Location: Reserve next to 90 Howard Rd.
Timeframe: This phase requires consents from Greater Wellington Regional Council to allow the works to progress. A draft application has now been submitted to the Council.
Stage 4
From Monday, 20 May – estimated completion before Christmas, with possible extension into the New Year depending on conditions.
Area of work: Howard Road below the upper intersection with Nikau Road. This work will be phased:
- Stage 4.1 – Upper Nikau/Howard Road intersection to 54 Howard Rd – estimated timeframe 22 days’ work effort*
- Stage 4.2 – 54 to 24 Howard Rd – estimated timeframe 27 days’ work effort*
- Stage 4.3 – 24 Howard Road to Lower Nikau/Howard Road intersection – estimated timeframe 15 days’ work effort*
- Stage 4.4 – Lower Nikau/Howard Road intersection to Howard/Westhill Intersection - (Church Lane included) The work on this section will impact all residents in Point Howard. One lane of the road will be closed with stop-go traffic management in place during work hours outlined below. Please plan for 3-5 min delays. Estimated timeframe 85 days’ work effort.
Sections of the road will be closed 24/7 but with active traffic management in place during work hours of 8am to 4:30pm daily. Residents will have managed access throughout.
Thank you
As always, a big thanks for your continued patience while we carry out these essential works.
This week the crew will be pipelaying and linking to house lateral connections.
Please note, Howard Road will be closed just above the intersection with Ngaumatau Road from 08:30am - 4:30pm on weekdays to vehicles. Pedestrian access is maintained at all times.
Project overview
Stage 1
59 Howard Rd to 2 Ngaumatu Road -Completed
Stage 2
Location: 67 Howard Rd to 90 Howard Rd -Underway
Road closures: 8.30am to 4:30pm
Stage 3
Local Reserve area adjacent to 90 Howard Rd.
An application is being developed for this phase requiring consents from Greater Wellington Regional Council to allow the works to progress.
Stage 4
Howard Road below the upper intersection with Nikau Road - Due to start May 20
Works starts on Stage 2 (67 Howard to 90 Howard Rd) on Monday 6 May.
Howard Road will be closed to through traffic just above the intersection with Ngaumatau Road from 08:30am - 4:30pm on weekdays to vehicles. Pedestrian access will be maintained at all times.
The work will be grouped into substages, with a target of laying one section of pipe (6 metres) per day, allowing the road to be opened to residents as the crew completes each stage and moves to the next.
Factoring in potential delays such as weather, hardness of the rock and other events outside the team's control, Stage 2 is expected to take around 12 weeks to complete.
As always, a big thanks for your continued patience while we carry out these essential works.
Work programme overview
Stage 3
Location: Reserve area adjacent to 90 Howard Rd.
Timeframe: An application is being developed for this phase requiring consents from Greater Wellington Regional Council to allow the works to progress.
Stage 4
Timeframe: Monday, May 20 – estimated completion before Christmas, with possible extension into the New Year depending on conditions.
Area of work: Howard Road below the upper intersection with Nikau Road. This work will be phased.
Next week
Howard Road will be open on Monday. Crews will be on site cleaning up, moving equipment and laying temporary chip seal to the road.
On Tuesday and Thursday, weather dependent, Howard Road will be closed from 8:30am to 4:30am to allow for milling and asphalting of the trench line. This timing allows for Point Howard Playcentre’s operations on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Please note, this work requires dry weather. If it is raining, the work will need to be postponed until conditions are suitable on a Tuesday and Thursday. Once resealing of the trench line is completed, Stage 1 will be fully completed allowing residents below 67 Howard Road to return to normal.
Stage 2
Location: 67 Howard Rd to 90 Howard Rd
Timeframe: the commencement of Stage 2 to be confirmed soon.
The shutdown is scheduled for Tuesday 23 April from 10am to 3pm. We have notified residents with a letter drop on Friday 19 April.
By Wednesday, all watermain works will be completed.
On Friday 26 April, Action Civil will return to remove the temporary watermain and most of their equipment from site. The road will reopen once this has been completed.
A crew will return shortly to reseal the trench line. We are still confirming a time for this work and will notify residents in advance. This resealing will require two-three days’ work during which time the road will need to be closed again.
Thank you again for your patience. Wellington Water and Hutt City Council understand people’s frustration at the changing timeframes and delays in finishing Stage 1 works. A review of the work programme is being carried out as a base to provide more accurate timeframes for Stage 2 works.
Meanwhile, we are committed to completing Stage 1 works.
Stage 2
Commencement of Stage 2 is under review with a decision soon.
Next week - March 18
The crew will continue working their way up Howard Road and hope to connect into the new watermain that was installed earlier at Ngaumatau Rd. They will then reinstate Ngaumatau Rd.
No shutdowns during the week are planned at this stage. However, we will notify residents if this changes.
As always, we welcome all feedback and questions. Wellington Water is committed to working with residents to balance your needs with the requirement to progress works safely and efficiently.
Installation of new pipeline on Howard Road
We remain on track to completing this section at the end of this month. Impacts on residents will be significantly reduced once this section is done.
We also successfully completed a water shutdown on Wednesday which had been rescheduled from Monday due to the wet conditions. The reason we can’t do shutdowns in wet weather is because of the welding process that melts and fuses the polyethylene (PE) pipes together.
The materials need to be completely dry and stay dry during the welding. Tarpaulins can be used to mitigate this but attempting it during a shutdown is too risky as we might not be able to turn the water back on should something go wrong.
Next week
The team will be continuing down the middle of Howard Road with trenching and pipelaying. No shutdowns during the week are planned at this stage. However, we will notify residents if this changes.
We welcome all feedback and questions. Wellington Water is committed to working with residents to balance your needs with the requirement to progress works safely and efficiently.
It’s been another week of steady progress on Stage 1 with trenching and pipelaying work down the middle of Howard Road. We remain on track to finishing this section, which is the most difficult, near the end of March.
Householders will receive a letter on Friday, 1 March to confirm the water shutdown with more details. We appreciate everyone’s understanding about these procedures, which are essential to connect the new temporary water main.
Meanwhile, we welcome all feedback and questions. Wellington Water is committed to working with residents to balance your needs with the requirement to progress works safely and efficiently.
The crew is also continuing to do their best to accommodate residents’ access needs.
A big thank you to the residents for providing freshly baked treats for the team. The food and friendliness are very much appreciated.
The water shutdown next Thursday is necessary so we can connect the new temporary water main.
The crew are making good progress with stage 1 of the works 59 Howard Rd to 2 Ngaumatu Road.
We expect to finish end of March. Once completed, residents will have normal access, excluding 67 Howard Road and further up.
We appreciate the community's co-operation with the team to ensure safe pedestrian access through the work site. Please keep up the good health and safety practices, making sure you have made eye contact with one of the team and that you have been given the go ahead to walk through before proceeding.
We have received an inquiry regarding whether residents could be informed on days when Howard Road is going to be partially open. Unfortunately, we can’t do this because the situation can change rapidly in terms of having to move diggers and other heavy equipment and the focus is on ensuring safety at all times. We will continue to provide updates by text message regarding any changes.
We really appreciate the way residents are co-operating with the team to ensure safe access through the work site. Residents have been very good about waiting outside the work area until one of the team has informed the digger operator to stand down and given the resident(s) the go ahead to walk through. There’s always a risk of people relaxing more as time progresses though, so please everyone, keep up these good health and safety practices and make sure you have made eye contact with one of the team and that you have been given the go ahead to walk through before proceeding.
Thank you everyone, for your patience while we carry out this work. Wellington Water is committed to working with residents to balance your needs with the requirement to progress works safely and efficiently.
We may need to action a water shutdown, potentially on Thursday, in order to connect a new temporary water pipe.
A notice will be provided to confirmed this. so please keep checking your mailboxes.
Otherwise, work will be on the same lines as the past week. The trenching work requires the crew to locate individual property connections, so you may have one of the team calling at your home to ask to locate services on your property. This will not be disruptive.
We really appreciate the way residents are co-operating with the team to ensure safe access through the work site. Residents have been very good about waiting outside the work area until one of the team has informed the digger operator to stand down and given the resident(s) the go ahead to walk through. There’s always a risk of people relaxing more as time progresses though, so please everyone, keep up these good health and safety practices and make sure you have made eye contact with one of the team and that you have been given the go ahead to walk through before proceeding.
Thank you everyone, for your patience while we carry out this work. Wellington Water is committed to working with residents to balance your needs with the requirement to progress works safely and efficiently.
The crew has been doing their best to accommodate residents’ access needs and continuing to work with Point Howard Association to communicate any changes to road closures as they occur through the Association’s text messaging service.
For any queries or questions, please email - pthowardassn@gmail.com
Work will be continuing on Howard Road from Wednesday. The trenching work requires the crew to locate individual property connections, so just a reminder that you may have one of the team calling at your home to ask to locate services on your property. This will not be disruptive.
Again, we appreciate everyone’s patience while we carry out this work. Wellington Water is committed to working with residents to balance your needs with the requirement to progress works safely and efficiently.
The crew has been doing their best to accommodate residents’ access needs and continuing to work with Point Howard Association to communicate any changes to road closures as they occur through the Association’s text messaging service.
Stage 1
Location: 59 Howard Rd to 2 Ngaumatu Road
Underway, expected to finish end of March.
Once finished with this section most residents will have normal access, excluding 67 Howard Road and up.
Stage 2
Location: 67 Howard Rd to 90 Howard Rd
Timeframe: To commence immediately after completion of stage 1.
Most residents will have normal access, excluding 67 Howard Road and up.
Stage 3
Location: Reserve area adjacent to 90 Howard Rd.
Timeframe: Still in planning phase requiring consents from the Regional Council to allow the works to progress
Stage 4
Start date to be confirmed. Area of work: Howard Road below the upper intersection with Nikau Road. 53 Howard Rd to 2A Nikau Rd. This work will be phased:
Phase A - middle section (18 - 74 Howard Rd)
Phase B - lower section (1 - 16 Howard). The work on this section will impact all residents in Point Howard.
Again, where the works require the road to be closed, we will continue providing the shuttle and parking arrangements.
The crew has also installed a temporary watermain above ground in the area of Howard Road around the junction with 2 Ngaumatau Road. This is needed because the road is so narrow in this area that the new watermain will need to sit right next to the old watermain. Excavating next to the old main is risky so the temporary water main will ensure supply while excavation is underway.
From Monday, January 29
Stage 1 trenching work to install the new watermain is underway. The work will start from the Ngaumatau Road junction with Howard Road and progress up to 59 Howard Road. This is expected to take around two months to complete.
Due to the nature of Howard Road, locating all individual property connections is proving challenging. The crew will be continuing to do this. So, you may see one of the team come and knock on your door and ask to locate services on your property. This will not be disruptive.
Thank you, we appreciate everyone’s patience while we carry out this work. Wellington Water is committed to working with residents to balance your needs with the requirement to progress works safely and efficiently.
During works
- Your postie is trying to deliver mail outside of the road closure times but, if this can’t be done, mail will be held at the Eastbourne Four Square.
- Send a ‘fob request’ form to savage.glenn@gmail.com if you want to use the parking area by the boat ramp in Seaview Marina.
- The shuttle is operating during pedestrian access times (7.30-9am, 12-12.30pm and 3-4.30pm) and will run from the marina carpark at the bottom of the hill up to the road closure on Howard Road.
With the road closed on Mondays, residents can leave any kerbside collections at the wide area on Howard Road located uphill of the intersection of Howard Road and Nikau Road (the upper intersection at 35 Nikau / 59 Howard Rd) as shown