Historical Hastings flooding issue to be fixed

As part of the project a 1200mm-diameter pipe will be laid along Railway Rd (PICTURED) between Gascoigne St and Southampton St. Photo / File

A once-in-a-generation project is about to get under way in Hastings - as a main stormwater pipe in Railway Rd is upgraded.

A two-stage project will start this Monday to replace an over-60-year-old pipe with a new one, which is hoped to address historical surface flooding issues in the area.

A 1200mm-diameter pipe will be laid along Railway Rd, between Gascoigne St and Southampton St, and a 600mm-diameter pipe between Southampton St and Eastbourne St.

The work will be carried out in two stages. The first short stage, between Eastbourne St and Southampton St, will start on Monday November 20 and be completed by December 15.

The road will be closed to through traffic from 7am to 6pm on weekdays from November 20 to December 1. From December 1 to 15, the road will be closed overnight, from 7pm to 6am. Access to businesses will be maintained.

Hastings District Council works and services committee chairman Kevin Watkins said doing this section first would get the piece at the busiest end of the project out of the way before the Christmas period "which will benefit business owners in that area, road users and the contractors".

The second, longer stage, from the Southampton St intersection to the Gascoigne St intersection, will be started in January and is expected to be completed by May. The road will be closed to through traffic with access to businesses and residences maintained.

Mr Watkins said road restrictions were always difficult to deal with but given the size of the pipe and the heavy machinery required to install it, Council was left with no choice.

"We're constrained by the railway corridor on one side and homes and businesses on the other side. The very best thing we can do is work as efficiently as possible to get the project completed as fast as possible."

Business owners and residents along that stretch of Railway Rd have been contacted and will be kept updated on the project.

For road users, a detour will be in place taking traffic along Murdoch Rd, on to Southland Rd, to Eastbourne St. Updates will be provided through traditional, and social media.