The opening of the four-lane Caversham Bypass yesterday was marked with a blessing, some backslapping and a tree planting in Dunedin.
About 60 people gathered to celebrate the completion of stage one of the Caversham highways improvements project, the creation of a four-lane highway from Andersons Bay Rd to Barnes Dr, to replace the former two-lane highway.
NZTA Southern regional director Jim Harland said the project was necessary to cope with the 25,000 vehicles using the road each day.
The project was completed two months ahead of schedule and within budget, he said.
"It will support economic growth, through the more efficient movement of freight and people, and provide motorists with a positive experience that is safer and takes less time."
Funding had been approved for the second stage, from Barnes Dr to Lookout Point, and work would start soon, Mr Harland said.
The challenges of the project had included relocating the peripatus, a rare carnivorous worm, away from the construction area, but the effort was recognised at the Conservation Week awards, he said.
The new project would include a median barrier separating the four-lanes of traffic and a two-lane bridge across the highway so drivers could cross State Highway 1 Between Riselaw and Mornington Rds, he said.
Project manager Simon Underwood said landowners and residents near the highway kept him on his toes but the project had turned out the better for it.
The top surface layer on the bypass road would be placed in January, after any settlement on the carriageway had levelled out, and would provide motorists with a smoother, quieter road surface, he said.
Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull said the project had been sensitive to community concerns and he was thankful the project had been completed on budget, ahead of time, in demanding and unpleasant conditions at times.
Mr Cull officially declared the highway open and, with Otago Regional Council chairman Stephen Woodhead, planted a kowhai tree in Sidey Park to mark the occasion.
The project was blessed by Hinerangi Ferrall-Heath, from Kati Huirapa ki Puketeraki.
