Major Roadworks Make A Difference

Travel on one back country road is now safer and more accessible following the sealing of the Waireka Road ‘staircase’ in the Otoi-Putere area.

The notorious section of road has provided a headache for truck drivers and locals for many years with its steep gradient and tight corners. The road also attracted high maintenance and metal costs.

Wairoa District Council Asset Manager Aram Goes said that sealing the road was a difficult job, particularly because it remained open during the process.

“Maintaining the surface for sealing was one of the challenges faced by contractors, but the final result is a far better level of service and accessibility than was previously there,” he said.

Other major works on the horizon include the redesign of the entrances to Wairoa College on Black Street and Lucknow Street.

WDC’s Infrastructure Business Unit (IBU) have been working with the school and Go Bus to develop a plan to improve safety and convenience, including dedicated bus bays.
Mr Goes said the project was expected to go out for tender before Christmas.

Work is about to begin on levelling out hollows at two points of the Mahanga Road, near Opoutama.

The problem areas have a history of flooding during heavy rain, resulting in restricted access. The aim of the current work is to alleviate the problem, although some slight flooding may still occur.

“The road can only be raised so far at those points, otherwise we run the risk of creating a dam effect during wet weather, which would result in flooding of the surrounding area. Water will still run over the road, but in a much more controlled manner, improving vehicle navigation through flood waters.” Mr Goes said.

In other IBU work, an experimental seal trial is underway on the approach to Harker’s Bridge culvert on Mangapoike Road. The aim is to enhance the safety in the approach to this one-lane bridge by defining the approaches, installing give-way markings and improving visibility through dust suppression.

Flood damage repairs are ongoing throughout the district, including the re-instatement of a 200m section of Erepeti Road destroyed by a landslide in August.

Movement monitoring surveys were carried out for two months after the landslide occurred to determine what ground within the landslide area was most stable.

Once stability in the landslide mid-section was confirmed, a new road alignment was designed across it. Now that a road alignment has been designed, QRS (Wairoa) Limited has begun construction of the new road section.

All going well, the road construction is expected to be completed prior to Christmas and Erepeti Road will be reopened to traffic.