Streams of traffic and storm water will once again flow uninterrupted down Masterton's Ngaumutawa Road, as work on a troublesome roundabout nears completion.
Roading engineer Alec Birch said the roundabout, between Renall Street and Upper Plain Road, had needed a new surface and better drainage, and work which began last week
would last about another four days.
Mr Birch said contractors "have been doing (the work) at night to minimise disruption to traffic".
He said roundabout surfaces "usually don't have a very long life" because of turning heavy traffic, and resurfacing could be almost as expensive as the original job. The new surface is composed of asphalt reinforced with textiles.
Major drainage work had also been needed to prevent the pools of water that have historically formed on the roundabout in heavy rain.
"It's basically sitting on a swamp," Mr Birch said of the site.
"It is a low point in the stormwater system."
Mr Birch said the flooding in the past had been made worse by old concrete stormwater drains about 30cm underground that had been decommissioned but were still channelling water.
Those had had to be broken up and removed, and a "very large" soak pit that was "absolutely clogged up with silt" had been cleared and dug even larger.
Sumps had all been repiped and there was now a system that could be flushed out and cleaned without digging it up, Mr Birch said.
