Tuwhareto St pavers replaced well ahead of schedule

In addition to being a safer, more sustainable option the new Holland pavers in Tuwharetoa Street are looking great.

Congratulations must go to the contractors, Fulton-Hogan who have managed to complete the retiling of the street almost two weeks early and our Councillors for backing the idea of a complete replacement. The work, which was done in stages to minimise disruption to the businesses, has gone smoothly and the crews performed their jobs with speed, accuracy and courtesy.

The decision to replace the flagstones was proposed by Taupo District Council CEO, Rob Williams after complaints by residents about safety issues caused by loose and broken tiles. An interim plan was to replace and relay the problem tiles but this proved unsuccessful and a decision to replace all the tiles immediately on the northern side of the street was made.

Mr Williams said “Tuwharetoa Street is one of the busiest streets in Taupo and it was only a matter of time before the tiles all had to be replaced given the high amount of foot traffic. It is far better to do the job properly now rather than to continue to patch up small sections of the street. Thanks to the support of our Elected Members we were able to move forward with a positive decision.” He said feedback from the businesses has been really great “I hope the community is as pleased as we are with the result.”

Infrastructure Manager, Ted Anderson said it was important to get the job completed before the Wattyl Cycle Challenge at the end of November and a must complete date of 16 November was set. “It was important that the tiles be replaced before our busy season. Council staff and contractors have all worked together on this project and we have had a fantastic outcome. He said there are still a few small finishing touches needed but the job is 99% finished. All up around 1500sqm of paving has been replaced at a cost of approximately $95,000.