We’re building new separated cycleways in both directions on Antigua Street between Moorhouse Avenue and St Asaph Street to improve cycle connections and safety in the central city.
The project also includes a watermain renewal to replace pipes which have reached the end of their serviceable life. The new pipes will be upgraded in size to help meet increasing demands generated by our growing city. Additionally, the road and western footpath will be renewed as part of the project.
Work began in May 2025, and is expected to be completed in October, ahead of the opening of the new Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre(external link).
The design of the street upgrade focuses on safety and accessibility for all users along Antigua Street, including cyclists, pedestrians, local businesses and the Parakiore facility.
We will also be enhancing the area with new street trees and landscaping.
The key features of the design include:
Project progress as of September 2025 includes:
The final major works will be the carriageway resurfacing, which is due to take place at the end of September over two weeks of mostly night works. This work involves milling the existing surface off the road and replacing it with new asphalt, constructing speed humps, line marking, and then installing green surfacing where required.
Find information on the current and upcoming traffic impacts in the drop-down tab below.
The following impacts apply when the night works are not in progress. See further down for more information about the impacts during night works from 28 September to 12 October.
Two weeks of night works, requiring a full road closure on Antigua Street between Moorhouse Avenue and St Asaph Street, are scheduled to start on Sunday 28 September. We will be completing road resurfacing, speed hump construction, and line marking. See below for the key details or view the works notice(external link).
Once the resurfacing works are completed, Antigua Street will remain one-way northbound until all remaining major works are completed.
The contractor is aiming to return Antigua Street to two-way traffic in mid-October, which is approximately three weeks ahead of schedule, as work was initially scheduled to finish in November.
This project was consulted on between 15 February and 15 March 2022. The consultation included proposed improvements to the Antigua Street footbridge, which are also being constructed in 2025 as a separate project, between early June and early July.
The Antigua Street cycle connection received 117 submissions, and the Antigua Street footbridge received 95 submissions.
The majority of submitters commented on both projects, with a small number commenting on just one.
See the details of the consultation(external link).
A hearing was held on Monday 11 April 2022. You can read the meeting agenda and minutes(external link).
The Hearings Panel recommendation was approved by Council on 12 May 2022. Read the minutes(external link).
Antigua Street is a key cycle connection used by approximately 1000 to 1200 cyclists every day. This is because south of Moorhouse Avenue, Antigua Street is the final stretch for one of our busiest major cycle routes, Quarryman’s Trail, which leads from Halswell.
North of Antigua Street, there is also the Uni-Cycle Major Cycle Route carrying people between Riccarton and the central city via Hagley Park, as well as the east and west central city cycleway networks on St Asaph Street (eastbound) and Tuam Street (westbound).
The section of Antigua Street we’re upgrading – between Moorhouse Avenue and St Asaph Street – sits between these key cycleway routes and directly alongside Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre, which is due to open late 2025.
Currently, a temporary cycleway is in place along this part of the road. A redesigned streetscape with permanently separated cycleways will make the road much safer for people who travel by bike, whether for work, school, shopping, or recreation.
Map of the nearby cycleway connections. [JPG, 387 KB]
To explore all the cycle connections in the city, view the Christchurch Bike Map.(external link)