Work to begin again at Waikanae car park

Work is set to get underway again next week (25 to 28 October) on the new Metlink Park and Ride facility at Waikanae.

"There is a lot of demand for parking from commuters who are using Waikanae Station and we are pleased work is set to resume," says Wayne Hastie GWRC General Manager Public Transport.

"When the new park and ride facility opens, there will be over 400 commuter parks for people catching the train from Waikanae. It will be free on weekends and public holidays for the community to use for events and casual parking."

Work was put on hold when asbestos was found on site in September. It appears that the asbestos was buried beneath the 50-year old concrete slab from the old Waikanae Hotel building.

"Contractors will begin removing and safely disposing of the asbestos next week. Unfortunately the time required to remove this contaminated material means none of planned new car parks will be available before Christmas 2016. This is very frustrating for everyone affected and we apologise to all for the delay", says Dr Hastie.

"It's unclear how long the job will take, but we will keep the community informed on how the clean-up progresses and when the new parks are expected to be available."

ENDS.

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