INDUSTRY COMMENT
By Antony Alexander
LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL I have to give credit where it is due. The past construction season has been productive for Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency in the Hawke’s Bay area, specifically the Napier to Taupo section of SH5.
O
ver the past two years, I have lobbied NZTA to repair or upgrade specific parts of the road where I had identified areas of tarmac with scabbing, potholes, or which were simply bumpy and, in my opinion, dangerous. During a ridealong with an NZTA representative, I pointed out multiple spots, including Dillon’s Hill, the Mohaka Bridge (southern approaches), the Titiokura Saddle – where trucks were losing traction in both directions on the southern lanes, plus multiple other areas where the surface
100 New Zealand Trucking
was failing. Waka Kotahi had been aware of the faults for many months, but funding wasn’t made available for any repairs beyond those scheduled under the Network Outcome Contracts. To be fair, those were just patch-ups, which were falling apart soon after completion. Most of the major issues have now been rectified using an asphalt mix rather than chip seal, and so far, they have held up quite well during winter. I certainly haven’t heard many complaints from fellow truck drivers. Previously, I did not believe a good standard of work was being carried out seeing many works repeated. In one area, at Stoney Creek (east of Tarawera), three weeks were spent digging out the road, re-laying shingle, then resurfacing, only to have it fail within days. This has now been ‘repaired’ using the asphalt mix, although it seems bumpier than it was before the October 2021
repairs were started. The same occurred at the Tarawera Hill, where the upper surface of the reseal was so thick, trucks were getting stuck going up the hill within minutes of the new seal being laid. The next day it rained, and the new seal was completely ripped up – it failed in less than 24 hours. Waka Kotahi blamed the weather for the failing and had the section resealed using asphalt. So far, it’s held up well considering the gradient of the climb and the weight of trucks. Also, within the past month, the entrance to Tarawera Café is being redesigned and reconstructed after a fatal crash in October last year. New barriers are also springing up weekly along the route and the ‘white picket fence’ section on the Titiokura Saddle, a site I have highlighted for some time where a completely substandard fence was the only thing that protected
people from going over a cliff, now has a barrier. This is a personal win for me.
Speed as a lever Many of us who use the road cannot understand the Waka Kotahi’s decision to consider dropping the speed limit for a section extending from Eskdale to Waipunga. Waka Kotahi regional relationships director Emma Speight said the speed limit review on this winding section would aim to save lives and prevent serious injuries from crashes. While the speed of vehicles in a crash determines injuries, Waka Kotahi, by its own admission, stated that the average speed over the stretch of highway was 81kph, so what really is the point of lowering the limit further, with the resultant impact on travel times? Initially, it stated travellers would only face a difference of about 41 seconds, a figure it later admitted was wrong,
