‘Diabolical’ state of road upsetting residents

Branson Road residents, from left, Tony Cowan, Sarah Jones, Jim Cowan, Dave Hunt, Greg Osborne and Robyn Osborne next to a mud pool on their road. They are calling on the council to better maintain the road which runs off Lavenham Road. Picture by Liam Clayton

A group of Waipaoa residents is calling on the district council to fix their rural road after silt from cleared drains turned their thoroughfare into “greased lightning”.

David Hunt lives about 20 kilometres out of town on Branson Rd, an area that was severely impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle.

But after the floodwaters subsided, residents have been confronted with a new issue — slippery roads.

A digger, which cleared culverts following  the cyclone in February, dumped the silt on the side of the road.

Unfortunately for residents, much of that has ended up on the road, which has created issues for residents trying to drive in a straight line.

“I know of four cars that have been into the drain at slow speed,” Mr Hunt said. “My brother-in-law is one of them. He came around the corner and slid straight off the side of the road.

“Every time it rains, it becomes diabolical.”

Mr Hunt said he had tried to contact the council three or four times to get the road swept, but was yet to see any progress.

Meanwhile, the fallout from the storm was beginning to take a toll on his health.

Like many people living on Branson Road, Mr Hunt is still trying to sort out his house, which was flooded during February’s deluge.

In the past couple of weeks the disappearance of the road’s sign  — which was only hanging on to its pole by a thread — summed up the feeling on Branson Road, he said.

“They call us the forgotten

street.”

Sarah Jones, who has lived at Waipaoa for four years, says the mud and silt has made living tough.

Following the cyclone, she took it on herself to try to clear some of the culverts , but ultimately gave up.

Her message to the council is clear — clean the ditches and get rid of the silt around people’s properties.

“You pretty much live in gumboots down here when it’s raining.”

Council community lifelines director David Wilson said the council became aware of the issues on the street a couple of months ago.

Fulton Hogan removed silt from the side of the road in March under contract from the council, he said.

“There is a private long driveway off the end of Branson  Road which is bringing silt back on to the road.

“We are unable to remove silt from private property with our scope of work and funding available.”

The council would manage the situation by sweeping the road, Mr Wilson said. Fulton Hogan was scheduled to complete that task last Tuesday.