Repeated SH2 closures disrupt food supply transport

Leaderbrand chief executive Richard Burke. Photo / RNZ

RNZ

The chief executive of vegetable supplier Leaderbrand wants a long-term fix to State Highway 2 between Wairoa and Napier.

Part of it was closed again on Sunday due to a slip between Pūtōrino and Kotemaori north of the Waikare Rd intersection.

The road was closed overnight.

Richard Burke said with no diversions available, the company had no choice but to reroute its trucks from Gisborne to Rotorua before heading south to the Cook Strait ferries.

He said a longer-term, more-resilient solution was needed that was not simply fixing the road, which keeps being closed.

Burke said although its trucks had to go the long way, the ferry timetable to cross the Cook Strait did not change.

“There’ll be a fair bit of disruption tomorrow while the guys try and play catch-up and swing things around.

“But to be fair, we’ve been doing this for the last 12 months so it seems like it’s a normal daily event — which is kind of bad for us, because we’re good at it, as we have to do it often.

“There’s no question the guys are kind of, I mean to be fair, pretty over it.”

Burke said Leaderbrand was absorbing the extra costs and not putting its prices up.

– RNZ