Should be smooth highway travelling

GISBORNE -East Coast travellers hitting the road over Christmas-New Year will not be held up by roadworkers’ stop-go signs for the next few weeks.
That is because the regional office of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has been flat-out to get all the region’s roadworks tidied up so holiday travellers can get to their destinations without frustrating delays.
State Highways manager Gordon Hart, in NZTA’s regional office in Napier, says his team has done well in “clearing the decks” for the holiday season.
“This year they have done a great job — there is nothing really serious to warn motorists of in the whole Gisborne-East Coast-Wairoa region.
“We’ve tidied up and temporarily patched any major works that were under way.”
Mr Hart says the main aim has been to achieve a free flow of traffic on the region’s roads so there are no obstructions or hold-ups for holidaymakers.
“All roadworks have been tidied up — some pavement rehabilitations on the Whareratas and near the Waipaoa River roundabout have been patched in the meantime — and damage that is waiting for repair, such as a number of road dropouts, has been marked.”
There are just a couple of areas where drivers need to do their bit and drive with consideration — south of Wairoa near Raupunga where there is seal widening and kerbing, and where some drivers have been speeding.
“Another area people need to be aware of is further south towards Napier — an area known as “The Nunneries” at Te Aowera, where a bluff is still slipping and sending down rock.
“Geotechnical engineers have a tricky job there and have been trying to stabilise the hillside, but the pumice ash and shattered rock is still on the move and there are still falls to the edge of the road.”
Elsewhere, in the Waioeka Gorge and round the East Cape road there is nothing of significance other than the project on the coast north of Opotiki, which is on hold until after the holidays.
The NZTA team and its contractors will be off until January 9, and the roadworks programme will resume the week after that. Contractors will do emergency work over the holidays as required.
■ For the first time, the temporary speed restriction in the freedom camping stretch on the coast just north of Gisborne has come into force before Christmas.
The NZTA and Gisborne District Council decided the traffic in the area had already increased significantly, so the speed restriction signs went up on Thursday.
NZTA state highways manager Gordon Hart says the amount of traffic and the build-up of campers in the freedom camping area on the coast road warrants imposing the restriction now.
The restriction is done under a local bylaw, but this is the first time it has been brought in before Christmas.