Giles Stewart fears dangerous spots like this on State Highway 12 will catch drivers out when SH1 is closed at the Brynderwyns.
Giles Stewart fears dangerous spots like this on State Highway 12 will catch drivers out when SH1 is closed at the Brynderwyns.
Some Northlanders fear detour routes for State Highway 1 at Brynderwyn Hills will not be safe when the highway closes for nine weeks from next month.
The Brynderwyns - part of the main road between Auckland and Northland - will be completely closed for roadworks to restore the routeback to pre-Cyclone Gabrielle conditions.
New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) has decided the closure will run from February 26 until the end of April, excluding a six-day opening for the busy Easter weekend.
During the closure, tourists will be advised to use the route through Mangawhai and Waipu Cove, which adds about 20 minutes to a journey between Whangārei and Auckland.
Trucks with trailers will be banned from this route, unless they are supplying local areas, because of a hairpin corner which can catch out some drivers, explained National Road Carriers Association commercial transport specialist Paula Rogers.
Freight will be advised to use SH12 then Paparoa-Oakleigh Rd, which will also add about 20 minutes, but oversized trucks will be forced to use SH12 and SH14 through Dargaville, which adds about 55 minutes.
The Northern Transportation Alliance has completed about 300 repairs on the local road alternatives, including Paparoa-Oakleigh Rd and Cove Rd.
About 14 per cent of the detours have been resurfaced and 20 per cent received pavement strengthening, at a cost of over $5.5 million, paid by Kaipara and Whangārei District Councils and central government.
NZTA is also preparing SH12 and SH14 to ensure this route is “as high-quality as possible”, said director of regional partnerships Steve Mutton.
But a Paparoa resident is concerned a patch-up job on SH12 will have dangerous consequences when the Brynderwyns close.
Giles Stewart, who drives daily from Paparoa to work in Wellsford, said there are numerous places on SH12 where the road is cracked or has sunk.
“There are massive cracks on the road. That’s with the current traffic, but if it’s got [to withstand] nine weeks of the heaviest trucks [travelling on this route], it’s just not going to hold up.”
Buster Sandford from Downer, Mike Monigatti from Hiway Stabilizers and Sasha Linton from Downer have been working hard with roading crews in recent weeks to improve the local road alternatives to the Brynderwyn Hills.
Stewart said with minimal traffic on the road at the moment, drivers usually drive on the other side of the road to dodge the cracked or sunken areas.
“That’s not safe at the best of times, but when we’ve got all this traffic, we know it’s a danger.”
The problems were highlighted one day when he followed a police car that was driving on the wrong side of the road to avoid the subsidence.
Stewart said just one patch is currently being fixed with pilings and he did not believe there would be enough time for all the problem areas to be properly fixed before February 26.
He was sympathetic regarding NZTA trying to get the highways back to a reasonable state after “five years or more of neglect”, but feared the substandard road could mean more fatalities during the closure.
Truck drivers happy with work done on alternate routes
But truck drivers are pleased with the progress NZTA and the Northern Transportation Alliance are making to bring the detour routes up to standard before the Brynderwyns closure, said Rogers.
“They’ve been going great guns because we said, ‘You’ve got to get these detour routes up to spec before any closure’.”
NZTA is also looking at improving detour signs so drivers do not get lost, like some did during the sudden closures after storms last year, she said.
“We’ve got a lot more time now, this can be managed correctly. Last time, it was overnight that it was shut,” Rogers said.
Mutton said a public information campaign starting next month will advise of any legal restrictions on the detour routes, which will be enforced by police or the relevant council.
About 120 people will work on the Brynderwyns site during the closure, with crews working around the clock in two shifts, seven days a week, at up to 10 sites.
The $61 million work will be done by Fulton Hogan, which has been helping to repair the route since the severe weather events of early 2023 with funding from the Government’s recovery works, he said.
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years’ experience in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.
