The final cost of Dunedin's new peanut-shaped roundabout

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Dunedin News

From reporter Hamish McNeilly:

It may be one of the country’s few peanut-shaped roundabouts, but it cost anything but peanuts.

The roundabout on Forbury Rd, in the Dunedin suburb of St Clair, was announced by the Dunedin City Council in 2019.

The uniquely shaped roundabout was needed due to the layout of the intersecting roads, and was designed to make the crash-prone area safer and more attractive.

The work had an original budget of $1 million – although work to place electrical lines underground was not pursued due to budget restraints – and was expected to be done by the end of December 2020.

However, lengthy delays due to upgrades needed for water and sewer pipes pushed the completion date to July 2021 and added to the cost.

Information released under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act revealed the final cost was $2.4m , with $1.4m attributed to transport and $970,000 to three waters.

A Dunedin City Council spokesperson said the price reflected an increase in the scope of the project.

“Our original estimate was about $1m to construct the new roundabout, but we encountered issues with poor ground conditions and delays caused by bad weather. This resulted in a final cost of approximately $1.45m.”

Work to replace ageing three waters infrastructure was not part of the original roundabout estimate, the spokesperson said.

The project was a priority for the council because the intersection was categorised as high-risk and difficult for motorists to negotiate.

“We are monitoring the performance of the new roundabout, and while it is too soon to comment on any improved crash statistics, it appears to be functioning well, and we have received positive feedback.”

The spokesperson was unaware if it was the first roundabout of its shape in New Zealand.

“Any roundabout is a complex project, navigating a variety of factors. We are planning other new roundabouts in Dunedin but none of the same shape as this one,” they said.

Included in the released documents was correspondence from business owners and residents angry over the lengthy delays.

“The disruption to the road has taken a lot longer than was first conveyed to us” according to one person whose business name was redacted.

Contractors started and finished at various times but never worked past 3pm on Fridays, one email noted.

“Some days there seemed to be an abundance of workers doing nothing at all.”

Another wrote to a senior council manager that the work was a “shambles”, while another email, headed ‘The Bloody Roadworks!!!’, noted no work had been carried out for days and machinery had been moved to another site.

“Why don’t they finish a job before starting another?”

Five people, who also had their names redacted, phoned and made complaints to the council, including one who was “extremely unhappy about the length of time it is taking to finish the roundabout”.

One complainant lived nearby and vented that when they drove past the roadworks, all they saw were two men “with brooms sweeping”.