Coronavirus Covid 19: Non-essential roadworks during lockdown done in 'error', says Tauranga City Council

Welcome Bay Rd in Welcome Bay, where non-essential road marking was carried out "in error". Photo / Andrew Warner

Non-essential road works being carried out late at night in Tauranga this week were done in "error", the Bay of Plenty Times can reveal.

Questions were raised this week after Tauranga City Council contractors were seen and heard carrying out road marking in Welcome Bay late on Wednesday night, despite the nationwide lockdown.

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Residents expressed their confusion and concern on social media, questioning why road workers were working during the lockdown, and why if such work was necessary, it wasn't being done during the day while there was minimal traffic.

Tauranga City Council infrastructure general manager Nic Johansson said roading contractors were still doing essential safety work around the city, things like regular road inspections and fixing immediate safety issues.

"There's some road marking to be done along Welcome Bay Rd over the next week for safety. [On Wednesday] the contractor did a non-essential part of this larger job that should have been left until after the lockdown. The contractor has their own Covid safety protocols and PPE [personal protective equipment]."

Johansson said the contractor acknowledged the Welcome Bay work "was done in error."

"We're not concerned about this being an ongoing problem. When we moved to Alert Level 4 we gave roading contractors a very specific list of essential activities. Those are the only jobs they are doing."

Other road works being carried out this week including removal of a "high risk" tree next to State Highway 33 at Paengaroa.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website