Coronavirus lockdown, then bad weather, creates havoc on highways

Monday, 31 August 2020

On State Highway 1 at Springs Flat, Northland, the timing of the coronavirus lockdown left the highway stripped out with exposed bitumen over winter.

New Zealand’s coronavirus response has claimed another scalp: Road seals on state highways.

The Covid-19 alert level 4 lockdown started in the peak of the summer road sealing season, leaving some highways stripped of seal.

The impact is particularly noticeable on State Highway 1 in Northland, where poor weather after lockdown destroyed newly laid seal.

On State Highway 1 at Springs Flat, just north of Whangārei, the road surface is falling to bits due to the incomplete sealing job.

The resealing programme was shut down on March 25, when alert level 4 started, because it was not an essential service, the New Zealand Transport Agency/Waka Kotahi Northland system manager Jacqui Hori-Hoult said.

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On State Highway 1 at Springs Flat, Margaret Record is worried someone will get hit in the eye by a stone.

“Nearly five weeks of good summer weather were lost when resealing would have been in full swing.”

When crews returned to work on April 27 under alert level 3, they pressed ahead with resealing but cooler temperatures impacted the seal, Hori-Hoult said.

“Motorists may notice that in places the road surface is a little rough and noisy to drive over. It’s because the stones in the newly-laid chip seal have been stripped out, exposing the bitumen underlay.”

Hori-Hoult said the worst affected area is State Highway 1 at Hikurangi, near Gilby Ave, and SH1 south of Auckland’s Wellsford.

Springs Flat Roadhouse Cafe owner Simon Tan says customers are constantly complaining about the poor road conditions.

But motorists also say SH1 at Springs Flat and SH1 near Portland are also in bad condition.

At Springs Flat, just north of central Whangārei, resident Margaret Record said she has to duck from stones every time she checks the mail.

The road surface is full of loose stones and road sweepers make little difference, she said.

“It’s very bad. The stones come all down my driveway and, as cars go by, they flick them onto my vehicle.”

Record is concerned someone will get hit in the eye with a stone, and said her neighbour’s children now cannot play in their driveway.

Springs Flat Roadhouse owner Simon Tan said the road was resealed in February – before the coronavirus lockdown – but was never properly finished.

He believed the poor road conditions are affecting business in the cafe, as customers are constantly coming in complaining about it.

“[NZTA] should’ve waited until summer time.”

But SH1 south of Whangārei is also in a bad condition, according to Whangārei taxi driver Alison Brown.

“The potholes getting constant refilling are pathetic,” she said.

The poor condition of the road resulted in her daughter getting a fingernail-size chip down to bare metal on her brand-new car, Brown said.

More needs to be spent on using better materials to seal the highways, she said.

NZTA expects to have a plan of work for the summer resealing season in the next month.

“Waka Kotahi thanks motorists for their patience and understanding while we carry out this work to improve the road, increase safety and make everyone’s journeys more enjoyable,” Hori-Hoult said.