Traffic built up in Rotorua's eastern suburbs after the November works began.
Rotorua Lakes Council leaders say the organisation raised concerns about NZ Transport Agency roadworks plans before a highway closure brought the city to a “standstill” last year.
The comments are in response to the agency (NZTA) saying it had “no correspondence” from the council before the State Highway 30A works started.
The council has also praised NZTA for swiftly postponing the works and making a new plan that has caused minimal impact compared to November’s debacle.
NZTA closed all four lanes of SH30A between Te Ngae Rd and Fenton St for resurfacing early on Monday, November 17.
Scheduled to last until mid-December, the work was cut short later that day after reported travel delays of up to two hours caused major disruption to schools, workplaces and healthcare providers.
NZTA was given a dressing down from Rotorua MP Todd McClay and Mayor Tania Tapsell, but has recently said no opposition was tabled by the council before works took place.
The agency’s response to an Official Information Act (OIA) request said it “did not receive any correspondence” from council staff, elected officials, local MPs or any other parties ahead of starting the roadworks.
NZTA said it would not “ordinarily expect to receive correspondence from these parties in advance” of planned roadworks.
The agency repeated these claims when pressed for clarity by Local Democracy Reporting.
Tapsell told Local Democracy Reporting that concerns were flagged with NZTA before work began, both by the council and nearby businesses.
She said NZTA was advised to engage and explore alternatives to a full closure with local businesses.
“We saw the full closure did result in significant delays for our community,” Tapsell said.
“As soon as work began, the city was at a standstill.”
Tapsell said she and the council “immediately” raised concerns with NZTA.
A letter from chief executive Andrew Moraes asked NZTA to reconsider its approach after “significant disruptions”. Students missed exams, and delivery of essential supplies was disrupted, as was construction work and emergency vehicle access, among other things.
Tapsell commended NZTA for taking swift action that day.
“I’m really glad that NZTA changed their approach so promptly, the new road going in is great and was much needed,” she said.
The resurfacing work restarted on January 27 under a new plan.
“We haven’t had any issues of delays or disruption since.”
Moraes said the council spoke to NZTA through multiple channels before the November roadworks started.
“We stressed to them the reservations and concerns we had.”
He said these “unminuted operational meetings, phone calls and in-person conversations” may not have been recorded, which may explain NZTA’s OIA response.
Despite what he called a day of “severe disruption”, Moraes said he had no interest in a “he-said she-said” investigation because he was ultimately satisfied with the end result.
“What is really good is that they responded to feedback from the community, the mayor and all of us.
“They didn’t just pause and come back with the same plan; they came back with a different plan and are upgrading an important piece of road in a much more managed way.”
He said the council’s relationship with NZTA was strong and he wanted to focus on how this would bring “good outcomes” to the city.
Council infrastructure and assets manager Stavros Michael said NZTA informed the council of the works in August last year.
While the agency did not require council sign-off, Michael said the council would highlight factors it wanted “taken into consideration”.
He said elected members were given updates on October 30 and four times between November 6 and 14. A recent update was provided this week.
No concerns had been raised since NZTA’s modified plan started.
“We work collaboratively to ensure an effective transport system for Rotorua,” Michael said.
“We recognise that with any roadworks there will sometimes be inconvenience for motorists, but we do our best to minimise this.”
Rotorua Business Chamber chief executive Melanie Short said the impact on the day was “very apparent and acute”.
She provided feedback on behalf of several businesses and said that NZTA accepted the impact on the community was “not acceptable”.
“I was really pleased they listened to the feedback and took it on board,” Short said.
“They were also quick to remedy it with the solution you can now see playing out.”
The agency originally considered a full closure to be the quickest and safest way of completing the SH30A work.
The plan now underway involves closing the road overnight from Sunday to Thursday.
It was expected to cost more than under the initial four-week plan, although specific numbers were not provided in the OIA response.
The works were expected to finish in mid-April.
More major Rotorua NZTA roadworks start on Monday, with the southbound lane of SH36 through Ngongotahā to be closed on weekdays for six weeks.
The lane closure is between Wikaraka St and Hall Rd, with southbound traffic to be detoured at Wikaraka St, from 9am Mondays to 2.30pm Fridays.
Northbound traffic can continue to use SH36 at reduced speeds.
The full asphalt rebuild is a priority to prevent the patched pavement failing in winter, NZTA has said.
Mathew Nash is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. He has previously written for SunLive, been a regular contributor to RNZ and was a football reporter in Britain for eight years.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.