Lizard News JANUARY 2021
FREE LOCAL NEWS... IN THE COMMUNITY
Te Puna • Whakamārama • Matakana Is • Ōmokoroa • Pahoia • Apata • Aongatete • Katikati • Tahāwai • Bowentown • Athenree • Waihī Beach
Stop/go Joan puts a smile on our dial By Matthew Farrell stop/go worker has set social media alight with positivity after an Ōmokoroa resident remarked on the happiness spread by her smiles and waves. When Anna Kingston sang the praises of OneStaff employee Joan Turner, her Facebook post was inundated with 400 reactions and comments from other locals. “She is doing an awesome job. This morning she was saying good morning to us as we drove past. It’s the little things that make a big difference,” says Anna. Joan was promptly awarded employee of the month, with Matt Groucott describing her as an amazing ambassador appreciated by her colleagues at Onestaff and J. Swap Contractors. Joan says the cheerful responses she receives from motorists are enough for her, and she would rather focus on the road safety message. “Please slow down through road works as our people are working right on the road. Between Margaret Drive and the skate path, please don’t just pull out when work is underway; unless you can see it is clear both ways, we will wave you out when it is safe. A massive thank you to everyone for their patience when they are on a Stop sign,” says Joan. Meanwhile, the Transport Agency says its worksites close from 23rd December to 5th January to leave the roads clear for holiday traffic, but temporary speed limits continue to apply on some surfaces. This includes Waihī to Ōmokoroa where shoulder closures, barriers and cones will remain in place at various sites along the State Highway 2 corridor. Traffic between Katikati and Tauranga is expected to be at its heaviest in the days leading up to 3rd January, due to the Bay Dreams event in Mount Maunganui. Day and night resurfacing works will be carried out at various locations between Athenree Gorge and Te Puna from Monday 11th January. Elsewhere, major maintenance work has been undertaken on State Highway 29 on the Waikato side of the Kaimai Range. NZTA says the road is sensitive to heavy vehicle use with cornering and slow trucks putting very high stresses on the surface. The work was rescheduled from October for design changes to mitigate issues with the east-bound crawler lane between the SH28 intersection and the J. Swap Kaimai Farm entrance. The work was scheduled to be completed as we went to press.
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