A pothole around Devil's Elbow, where roadworks will close State Highway 2 between Napier and Wairoa tomorrow and Sunday. Photo / Warren Buckland
A pothole around Devil's Elbow, where roadworks will close State Highway 2 between Napier and Wairoa tomorrow and Sunday. Photo / Warren Buckland
The manager of a major Hawke's Bay hotel has complained of a "direct revenue loss" because of a closure of State Highway 2 between Wairoa and Napier this weekend.
State highways management agency Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is closing the road on the 30km section between the intersections withAropaoanui Rd, at Tangoio, and Halliburton Rd, at Kotemaori, from 7am to 6pm on both Saturday and Sunday, for "pavement improvement works".
It will be open from 6pm on Saturday to 7am on Sunday, with the NZTA saying that with no suitable detour available during the daytime, motorists should plan travel for outside the closure periods, but also be aware of a 30km/h limit around the roadworks in the vicinity of the Devil's Elbow.
Katie Silcock, general manager of Marine Parade Scenic Hotel Te Pania, says the loss could have been avoided if the NZTA had consulted with communities at either end of the closure.
"Under current conditions with Covid there is so much we can't control," she said. "It is frustrating to be faced with something like this road closure that we could have had control over, if the option was presented."
The closure has also angered Wairoa Mayor Craig Little, who is dismayed at the lack of engagement with his community and likens the NZTA approach to "my way or the highway". He says the lack of consultation suggests that if the agency is looking for answers, perhaps it should "look at itself first".
The closure of SH2 has angered Wairoa Mayor Craig Little, who claims there has been a lack of engagement with his community. Photo / NZME
"All the processes are in place, with the Regional Transport Committee and all that, so perhaps it is LTSA that is the problem," he said.
"Entire weekend closures of State Highway 2 certainly do not meet the Government's requirements of the four wellbeings for our Wairoa people."
"New Zealand's roading network is going backwards rather than meeting the needs of the future," he said, calling the 116km highway and the one hour and 40-minute trip a "patched quilt of potholes and orange road cones".
"How can the Government expect communities to thrive when their health and safety is compromised because of a substandard highway that does not give them parity with the rest of New Zealand?"
Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer Karla Less said: "It is valid and reasonable to repair roads that desperately need attention, however there must be a better way.
"Community consultation is important to ensure all parties can be successful," she said. "In future, I would like to see Waka Kotahi take a collaborative approach by reaching out to local businesses, community.
"Businesses need our support. They do not need additional barriers put up that prevent them from operating at their optimum capacity."
NZTA had said that if the weather was not suitable the roadworks could be postponed.
But with some heavy rain forecast for Hawke's Bay over the weekend, there was no announcement from the NZTA by late Friday that the works would not go ahead.
It advised motorists to visit the Waka Kotahi Journey Planner website (journeys.nzta.govt.nz) or Central North Island social media pages for up-to-date information on the works.
