A trailer carrying dry cement rolled on the southern side of the Brynderwyn Hills.PHOTO/ Michael Cunningham
A trailer carrying nearly 30 tonnes of dry cement rolled and was only metres from toppling into a steep bush-clad gully.
The trailer hit the bank and rolled on its side, while the truck unit stayed upright in the southbound lane of State Highway One on the southern side of
the Brynderwyns, known locally as Waterfall Corner, about 4am yesterday.If the truck and trailer unit had crossed the road and crashed through the roadside barrier it would have plunged hundreds of metres below into dense bush and been almost impossible to recover.
A tyre from the truck unit was left resting on the side of the road about 40m from the trailer. A tow truck was used to get the truck unit to the top of the Brynderwyn Hills but the trailer was blocking one lane.
Whangarei police Sergeant Ryan Gray said NZ Transport Agency had decided to keep the road open to one lane during the busy period to let a bulk of the morning traffic through including school buses. Then at 10am the road was closed and two cranes were then manoeuvred into place.
A specialist heavy traffic officer Sergeant Phil Halton said the capsule part of the trailer, filled with the dry cement, was separated and lifted on to a truck. The trailer section was lifted on to a flat deck truck and both were taken to Auckland for repair.
