Cars are now able to make full use of Haupapa St, with the new crossing open.
A Rotorua Lakes Council spokeswoman said the new raised crossing outside the library building, Te Aka Mauri, was almost complete and was now open to traffic. The road has been a construction sitesince August.
Street lights and trees are still to be added.
The raised portion is designed to be a traffic slow zone, providing disability parking and a safe crossing area for pedestrians.
The new raised crossing on Haupapa St outside the Te Aka Mauri building. Photo / Ben Fraser
Meanwhile, work on the building, Te Aka Mauri, was progressing well and on track to the new February 3 opening date, with just carpet tiling, some painting and finishing touches to be done, she said.
The adjoining Jean Batten Park was also progressing with pathways under way and play equipment being installed.
The opening of Rotorua's new library and children's health hub had to be deferred to February due to delays during the final construction phase, brought about by project contractor Fletchers experiencing problems finding sub-contractors due to high demand for tradespeople.
The project is jointly funded by the Rotorua Lakes Council and the Lakes District Health Board, which will become a long-term tenant in the building, providing outpatient child health services.
Sponsorship has contributed to additional library activities and resources, and to design aspects of the building.
Te Aka Mauri library will open in February. Photo / Ben Fraser
Preparations for moving back to Haupapa St are well advanced and Rotorua Library manager Jane Gilbert said library staff were looking forward to starting the moving process.
"We're all pretty excited about moving into our revamped space and especially about sharing it with the community.
"We're going to be able to provide additional services, some great new features and we have a lot of plans for new and improved programmes and activities."
She said they would also be opening on Sundays once they had moved into Te Aka Mauri – "it's a great new space with the added bonus of the new park outside and we think the community are going to love it".
"We've got a great community open day planned for February 3 to mark the library's return to Haupapa St and we look forward to a good turnout. There'll be more information about the open day after the new year."
The Pukuatua St library will be closed from January 26 to allow for the move back to Haupapa St.
Gold Star Bakery manager Boris Chen said it was good having the works on Haupapa St finished.
He said there was a drop in business while the works were going on, but hopefully it would pick up again now.
