’Safety first’: Removing vegetation at Waimea / Beatson Road roundabout

Nelson City Council’s contractors are removing vegetation from a part of Waimea Road leading up to the Beatson Road roundabout to reduce the amount of maintenance required to avoid overgrowth and ensure the safety of our contractors.

Starting Monday 19 June, the work will remove a small section of flax bushes and Rengarenga that are currently maintained every six weeks to prevent the shrubs from encroaching on the roadway. 

Traditional mowers aren’t effective for maintaining the shrubs, which means contractors must maintain the garden by hand—a dangerous task at one of the city’s busiest roundabouts. 

Contractors have advised Council that working in the area is unsafe with at least one report of a vehicle nearly hitting a contractor. Group Manager Community Services Andrew White says any decision to remove greenery from our city is not taken lightly and comes down to balancing safety with beautification.  

“This is unfortunately an area that’s difficult to access and disruptive to maintain, requiring full lane closures whenever maintenance work takes place to provide a buffer for contractors. 

“Concreting this area and removing it from the regular maintenance schedule will ensure contractor safety and minimise the disruption this maintenance work causes for commuters.” 

After the vegetation is removed, healthy shrubs will be relocated to other more suitable locations, and while this roadside may be losing some greenery, 37 trees have recently been planted at other roadsides and reserves nearby.  

While this work is underway, crews will also be concreting two Council-owned traffic islands at the southeast end of the roundabout that currently do not have any vegetation. Other roadside areas at this roundabout are owned by Waka Kotahi NZTA and are not a part of the work.  

Speed restrictions, traffic management and some lane closures will be in place throughout the project, and delays are likely. Please allow extra time for travelling.   

We appreciate your patience while we carry out this work.  

Details

Work will take place Monday to Friday from Monday 19 June to Friday 30 June (weather permitting). 

Beatson Road entrance - closed Monday 19 June

The entrance to Beatson Road from the roundabout will be closed Monday 19 June. 

Traffic will be detoured towards Nelson via Waimea Road. 

Residents can access Beatson Road from the entrance near Waimea Road/Scotia Street.

Waimea Road entrance - closed Wednesday 21 June to Wednesday 28 June (not including weekends).  

The entrance to Waimea Rd (heading towards Stoke) from the Beatson Rd roundabout will be closed Wednesday 21 June to Wednesday 28 June (not including weekends).   

Traffic will be detoured via Whakatu Drive and then onto Annesbrook Drive.  

Two Route 1 bus stops on Waimea Road heading towards Stoke (on Waimea Road just past the Beatson Road roundabout and on Waimea Road just past Quarantine Road) will be closed during this time.  

The nearest alternative bus stops can be found at Waimea Road/Tuckett Place and Main Road Stoke near Louisson Ave.