Peace Street residents living with uncompleted road works want answers as to why work has been halted over the past month.

Whakatāne District Council began its Peace Street stormwater and safety upgrade project in October, with an expected completion date of May 1.

However, resident Peter Mullooly said no work had taken place in the past four weeks and contractors had uplifted their machinery to another job.

With driveways, footpaths and kerbs dug up and left uncompleted, Mr Mullooly said residents were “beside themselves” dealing with dust thrown up by traffic ignoring road closed signs. He has been told it would be months before it was finished.

“We’d just like some answers,” says Peter.

The council’s three waters project manager Aimee Thumath said the project, now in its second stage, had “many moving parts” as several projects in the area had been combined to minimise disruption to residents and motorists.

Stormwater system upgrades to road drainage and the installation of a wetland to absorb and filter rainwater on the Peace Street Reserve were expected to reduce instances of flooding after heavy rain, while a new roundabout at the McGarvey Road intersection and raised crossings would improve road safety.

Investigations had also uncovered heavy metal contamination of soil on some areas, meaning additional soil testing was needed along with the development of a new site management plan.

“Works on the project are being completed in three stages and rely on many different moving parts," says Aimee.

"To date, work has been completed in full between Brabant Street and McGarvey Road, while works on the second stage between the McGarvey Road-Peace Street intersection and the Peace Street service lane to the east are well underway."

“Council is working alongside key stakeholders such as Chorus, One NZ and Horizon Networks to relocate existing services and aligning the timing of this work can be challenging.

"Works to construct the new roundabout near the Peace Street dairy and the two raised pedestrian platforms on McGarvey Road will commence once this second portion of road works along the eastern end of Peace Street itself are completed."

“[Contamination] was limited to the culvert footprint and didn't encompass the entirety of the project area.

"Therefore, broader analysis was needed across the entire site. Understanding the contamination level is crucial, as it informs the necessary environmental protections and safety measures for contractors and the public, as well as appropriate disposal methods,” says Aimee.

“Encouragingly, further investigation concluded that the site does not pose an immediate or long-term threat to human health or the environment, provided it is managed appropriately.”

Work on Peace Street Park is likely to begin in the coming weeks, followed by the commencement of road works on Peace Street once progress has been made on the northern section of the park to accommodate necessary adjustments to the road levels.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.