Totara Valley Road Services Extension

Our Council is extending infrastructure up Totara Valley Road, just to the south of the main Thames township, in order to open up the area for housing development.

In three stages, the road will be widened and improved, and stormwater, drinking water and wastewater (the three waters) infrastructure will also be improved and extended up the length of the road.

This work will allow for housing growth in the area in the immediate short term, helping to alleviate the identified housing shortage in Thames. It aligns with the Thames and Surrounds Spatial Plan, which has identified areas in the Thames Ward where housing and commercial development could occur.

Stage One - completing autumn 2023.

The stormwater culvert under Ngāti Maru Highway (State Highway 25) was upgraded from a single 1200mm pipe to triple 1200mm pipes. This addresses potential flooding issues at the foot of Totara Valley Road. Utility infrastructure provided by Chorus has been relocated and Powerco has been undergrounded. 

As at the end of March 2023, around 90 per cent of the water main relocation under SH25 has been completed.

A turning bay from Ngāti Maru Highway into Totara Valley Road has been completed.

Stage Two 

Negotiations with landowners along Totara Valley Road are underway to acquire slivers of land needed to widen the road and allow three waters services to be installed or upgraded.

Totara Valley Road will be widened and three waters services extended from Ngāti Maru Highway to Sawmill Road. Work has started on the extension of stormwater infrastructure from the SH25 intersection to Sawmill Road. The tender for the work is due to be advertised in April with construction set to begin in September 2023.

Stage Three .

Totara Valley Road will be widened from Sawmill Road to the end, and three waters services extended along this section.