New $346,000 pedestrian crossing in Auckland dug up for repairs months after being built

The new pedestrian crossing being dug up for repairs only months after it was installed in Grey Lynn. Photo / Alex Burton

A raised pedestrian crossing in the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn has been dug up for repairs only months after being built at a cost of $346,000.

Auckland Transport says the pedestrian crossing on the corner of Williamson Ave and Millais St was completed in September last year, but subsequent site inspections picked up several substandard quality faults.

They included a non-compliant ramp that needed extending, an entry ramp that did not meet the specified 1:15 gradient and had to be rebuilt, and problems with a cesspit that did not line up with a channel.

An AT spokesman said the contractor, TSL (Traffic Systems Ltd), was instructed to fix the problems, which took about one week.

“AT will not be paying anything for this remedial work,” the spokesman said.

The repair works included traffic management, including road cones and temporary traffic lights. Photo / Alex Burton

During the repairs, orange cones and traffic lights were installed back from the intersection, interrupting the flow of traffic.

Asked if AT had similar issues with TSL, the spokesman said it is possible some snags have previously been picked up, but it would take quite a long time to go back and look at each and every project the company was involved in.

Neither Mayor Wayne Brown, who has sought a complete change in approach at AT, and new AT chief executive Dean Kimpton, who is out to improve the public image of the council body, wanted to comment on the pedestrian crossing stuff-up.

When the Herald sought comment from TSL, the company’s general manager at traffic systems, Tim Lott, said “given Auckland Transport is our client, all media inquiries are to be directed to them”.