Lending a helping hand

e Takitimu North Link Project team is o ering their help to the community for any clean-ups or outdoor maintenance needed in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle.

Contractors for the Takitimu North Link project, Fulton Hogan and HEB Joint Venture have been o ering help to their project neighbours in the Bethlehem area, through Wairoa and Te Mete valleys, and Te Puna. Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s regional manager of infrastructure delivery, Jo Wilton, says they sent out an email to residents asking after their welfare and o ering to help clean up sections, unblock drains, or anything else they require.

“Due to the weather, the team couldn’t get much construction work done so they’ve been only too happy to help those in need after Cyclone Gabrielle.”

Jo says Waka Kotahi has received about 30 responses to their community callout. “Most of the requests have been to help out with clearing trees and large branches that have come down during the cyclone.”

Others just needed some general yard work done. Eighty ve-year-old Bethlehem resident Mary Watson jumped at the opportunity to get some free garden maintenance from the project team. Mary says she can’t a ord tree and lawn workers anymore, so was thankful for the help. “ e tree person is just getting over the top as far as costs are concerned,” says Mary. “ e fact that they’ve [road work contractors] come around because they can’t work on the Takitimu North project –it was just a miracle.”

One neighbouring resident of the project responded to Waka Kotahi saying: “Fortunately we are okay and do not need help but we wanted to say how impressed we were by the email you sent out. We thought that was an incredible example of community involvement”.

Jo says the Takitimu North Link project team will be working in this “awesome community” for around ve years.

“It’s just about being good neighbours.” e restart-date for works on the Takitimu North Link project is yet to be con rmed. “As soon as weather conditions allows, the team is really keen to get back on the job,” says Jo. Georgia

Minkhorst