Source: Radio New Zealand
Vehicles stretch back along Ladies Mile at Awakino ahead of the 6.30pm convoy north. Robin Martin/RNZ
The reopening of the Awakino Gorge on State Highway 3 is being described as a ‘Clayton’s’ opening as its limitations become clear.
The gorge opened to one-lane escorted convoys over the weekend, but remains closed during daylight hours on week days, infuriating some business owners.
As the sun set on Ladies Mile at Awakino on Tuesday night, truck and trailer units, camper vans and passenger vehicles stretched as far as the eye could see.
Daryl Adams, a driver for IXOM, was first in line for the 6:30pm convoy.
Hauling gas and chemicals north, he had been queuing for more than four hours, but reckoned it was worth it.
“It’s definitely a lot quicker than going around the other way, it’s a lot less ks [kilometres],” he said.
“Well over 500 ks less and six hours less, so it’s more viable and feasible to sit here and just wait for it to open and take the convoy.”
There are about 10 significant underslips in the Awakino Gorge and more than 30 slips after severe storms hit the region. ROBIN MARTIN / RNZ
But for Mōkau retailers, who initially rejoiced at the road’s reopening, its limited nature was becoming clear.
Krystal Murray worked at Mōkau’s iconic Whitebait Inn.
“The roads have been dead, we’ve only got the locals or the odd workers coming through. It’s gonna kill us,” she said.
Krystal Murray said communication from NZTA had left something to be desired.
“[I thought] that it’d be opening one lane daily, every day … not shut for the day and open at night for a convoy.”
Dev Rawat owned the River Run Cafe and wasn’t happy either.
“Totally hard for us, they start the convoy and then everyone comes together and no one stops here.”
Owner of the River Run Cafe at Mōkau Gyandev Rawat wants financial help for businesses affected by the Awakino Gorge closure. Robin Martin/RNZ
Rawat wanted financial help for those affected.
“All businesses depend upon the people who are passing through, and no one [is] at the moment,” he said. “[It’s a] tough time for us. I would request to the government or NZTA to provide some subsidy.”
New Plymouth mayor Max Brough was also critical of Waka Kotahi’s messaging.
“There was a fair few of us, myself included, that didn’t get a clear message through the process right up until the finish line that it wouldn’t be open during the day,” he said.
“But you can’t fix the road with it being open. I guess a bit better communication at the outset would have been good.”
He reckoned the Transport Agency had found itself stuck between a rock and a hard place.
“I think everyone thought that May 2 was the goal, and then it sort of slid out sideways a little bit … It’s a ‘Clayton’s opening,’ I think it’s been referred to me [like that] by the trucking industry.”
Mark Sorensen, a senior transport manager for Bulk Lines, said the current gorge access didn’t work for him.
“Night shift is just not an option for 99 percent of those units because the customers aren’t open at night to unload and reload,” he explained.
“That makes it very difficult, [we’re] predominantly using the detour, State Highway 4, State Highway 1.”
He said the reopening was “very limited and frustrating”.
“I understand they’ve got a big job to do, but it would have been good to see a couple of daytime openings for convoys, trucks only, so we get the heavy freight through.”
NZTA said it was aware the daytime closure during the week had been disruptive.
One of the large slips on the Awakino Gorge. Supplied / NZ Transport Agency
But it said running convoys overnight meant crews could work longer and more efficiently, which meant the road could reopen fully sooner.
It said it had previously signalled the reopening would be staged with restrictions.
NZTA said in a statement that it explored a number of other options, including allowing for a convoy window during the day.
It says before each convoy could run, heavy machinery must be moved out of the road, and crews needed time to inspect the site to make sure the day’s earthworks had not made the slope unstable or unsafe.
“Repeating this process multiple times a day would cause major disruptions to the work and significantly extend the length of time convoy restrictions would be required.”
NZTA said much of the work being carried out in the gorge was highly specialised and needed to be done during daylight hours to keep crews safe and to ensure the work was completed to the required standard. “This includes earthworks and slope stabilisation, where visibility is critical.”
The terrain through the gorge was narrow and winding in places and there was not enough room to have traffic travelling through while crews were working – and it was not safe or practical for crews to be working during the night, it said.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand