It took commuters up to 90 minutes to travel from Whangārei to Ruakaka and vice versa as a result of the lowered speed limit on State Highway 1. Photo / Tania Whyte
It took commuters up to 90 minutes to travel from Whangārei to Ruakaka and vice versa as a result of the lowered speed limit on State Highway 1. Photo / Tania Whyte
A lower speed limit following overnight road resurfacing has caused major delays for commuter traffic on State Highway 1 south of Whangārei and motorists are being advised to plan ahead during the festive season.
Frustrated motorists took to social media to vent their anger and some complained about damage totheir vehicles from the hot tar and chip seal while commuting to and from Whangārei on Monday.
Lynne, who did not want her full name used, attended an appointment in Auckland on Monday morning but missed another, scheduled for 4pm in Whangārei the same day.
She left Auckland just after 1pm but didn't arrive back in Whangārei until 4.30pm and said it looked like the road workers were tarsealing both sides of the state highway between Oakleigh and the Portland turnoff.
"That's what it looked like. It took me one and a half hours to get from just past Ruakākā into Whangārei. I couldn't believe the traffic queue and initially thought there was an accident."
She said there was a police car and an ambulance at Caltex in Oakleigh but it was for a medical event.
Lynne has arthritis in both legs and back and said it was difficult to sit in her car for long periods.
Mother of two Lee Wikaira was bringing her partner from Wellsford to Whangārei for a dental appointment when they got stuck in traffic at Oakleigh.
They made it to the appointment despite driving at 10km/h through roadworks into Whangārei.
The journey took the couple 90 minutes and Wikaira said traffic was worse on their return home about 1.30pm.
"The traffic reminded me of Auckland. I thought there was an accident along the way but as we got closer, we saw road workers resealing the road before the Portland turnoff."
Northbound traffic just past Oakleigh moving at 10km/h on Monday. Photo / Supplied
Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency's Northland system manager, Jacqui Hori-Hoult, said on Sunday night that road maintenance crews carried out scheduled resurfacing of the northbound and southbound lanes along half a kilometre of SH1 at Smeatons Hill.
The work was carried out overnight to minimise disruption to daytime motorists and it was completed by 4am, she said.
"As is usual practice when a new surface is laid, the road was reopened to traffic with a 30km/h speed limit to protect the new seal.
"It was a busy day on the road and while the speed limit was 30km/h, the traffic was moving through the resealed area at about 10km/h. Traffic backed up and long queues formed," she said.
Hori-Hoult said overnight, the road was swept of loose chips and the speed limit increased to 50km/h.
The road was to be swept again last night, with new lane markings applied and the speed limit will be restored to 100km/h.
"While we endeavour to minimise disruption to motorists, this is a normal three-day resurfacing process that Waka Kotahi follows all over the country."
Hori-Hoult said Waka Kotahi's Northland construction projects, maintenance work and road resurfacing would stop from December 23 until January 4 to keep roads clear for people to travel safely over what was expected to be a busy Christmas holiday period.
However, she said people should plan ahead as there would still be temporary speed limits and road cones at work sites, or where there has been recent road resurfacing.
Waka Kotahi director of regional relationships Steve Mutton said it was particularly important that motorists remained patient and didn't try to overtake while its crews set up and took down traffic management signs and cones.
"Speeding through work sites is a significant problem. Speeding vehicles can flick up loose metal and other objects which are a danger to road workers and other road users. They may clip road cones and send them flying at our road workers or oncoming traffic or lose control completely."
Waka Kotahi is investing $127 million in resurfacing and maintenance work between October to March, which will take place at 2400 sites across the country, with about 8 per cent of the state highway network being resealed or repaired.
