A Waka Kotahi sign south of Inglewood told drivers on State Highway 3 of roadworks on Sunday, but an oversight meant no works were taking place between the town and Midhirst.
Urgent pothole repairs on a 21km stretch of Taranaki’s busiest highway were only partially completed on Sunday after a traffic management plan oversight by contractors.
Last week, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency announced State Highway 3 between Inglewood and Stratford would be closed from 7am to 1pm for urgent work in two sections.
But on Sunday afternoon, Waka Kotahi said “operational issues” meant only one section had been completed.
Asked to explain, a Waka Kotahi spokesperson said there had been an “oversight by our contractors regarding the traffic management plan for the works”.
READ MORE:
* Woman finds herself in sticky situation while directing traffic at mystery New Plymouth molasses spillage
* New Plymouth mayor slams Waka Kotahi’s SH3 winter repairs reasoning
* Pothole peppered section of SH3 in Taranaki to be closed Sunday for urgent repairs
“Unfortunately, they did not identify this early enough to rectify it.”
This meant repairs on the Stratford to Midhirst section were completed, but work at Tariki, between Midhirst and Inglewood, will have to take place at a future date.
Around 9.30am on Sunday an electronic Waka Kotahi sign on the south side of Inglewood informed motorists that the road to Midhirst was closed, as did the transport agency’s Journey Planners website.
But no work was taking place.
Waka Kotahi had been encouraging drivers to take State Highway 45, which added about 24 minutes and 35km to a journey from Hāwera to New Plymouth.
Stratford Mayor Neil Volzke was not impressed, and said motorists have had enough of damaged rims and flat tyres.
LISA BURD/Stuff
The sign was later changed to say the road was open.
“But more importantly, I just don’t get why no one in Waka Kotahi seems to understand the message that these potholes are dangerous. It’s only a matter of time before we have a serious or fatal accident.”
Waka Kotahi had missed “a great opportunity” to do the work, Volzke said.
“The weather has been perfect and when it breaks and starts raining again we will be right back to square one.”
New Plymouth Mayor Neil Holdom said it was pretty clear Waka Kotahi is an “organisation in crisis”.
“I mean, undertaking winter repairs is the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.
“We’ve got five days of rain coming and it’ll be likely most of the repairs that were done today will be blowing out, and they won’t be there in a week anyway.”
Holdom said something had to be done “that’s more than just patching it in the middle of winter and hoping it doesn’t rain”.
It was disappointing for motorists to have to change plans when Waka Kotahi had not actually done the work, he added.
“But, I mean, we do have to keep a focus on the safety of our road workers.”
In an emailed statement, Jaclyn Hankin, Waka Kotahi regional manager maintenance and operations, apologised to motorists and thanked them for their patience.
“We will share details for completing the works at Tariki with the community once we have them.”
The agency also apologised “unreservedly” for any inconvenience caused by the lack of up-to-date information, Hankin said.
”Ordinarily, when a change, such as the works being unable to go ahead, is identified by our contractors, they are required to update the information that informs the communication via our Journey Planner website, social media and roadside electronic messaging.
“This has not happened in this case, and we will be asking questions of our contractor to understand why.”
A Waka Kotahi spokesperson said they would have the full details on what had happened once the team had had a “chance to debrief” on Monday.
التعليقات