Diverted drivers not keen to stop

A Waipu cyclist shares the road with a dramatically increased volume of traffic through the town since the detour around SH1 over the Brynderwyn Hills has been in place. Photo/John Stone

Despite having well over four times the normal number of vehicles on Waipu roads thanks to the Brynderwyn detour, the town's businesses aren't any seeing increase in customers - and locals fear the roads won't be able to handle the extra traffic.

State Highway 1 at the Brynderwyns has been closed since Sunday following a major slip, with traffic diverted through Waipu and Mangawhai, and SH12 and the Paparoa-Oakleigh Rd.

Waipu Cove local Angus McCullough estimates traffic through Cove Rd has increase four to five fold with significantly more - and much larger - trucks passing through than usual.

"I just wonder how the road is going to hold up. This is more like summer traffic, but throw in the trucks," he said.

The traffic comes in bursts, with "batches of 20 to 30 cars and a couple of trucks" - many of which are logging and heavy supply trucks - all through the day and night, he said. But he hasn't noticed many of these motorists stopping at the Waipu Cove General Store.

The store's owner, Gim Hou, confirmed this. "Lots of traffic, not many people stopping."

Other Waipu businesses such as the GAS service station and Magic Chinese Takeaways have also noticed no increase in customers despite the traffic. GAS manager Lynda Lewin said, if anything, there was an increase in people asking for directions.

Whangarei District Council is aware of the extra wear and tear, and has an arrangement with the New Zealand Transport Agency to claim for additional extraordinary damage that occurs as a result of the detours, roading manager Jeff Devine said.

"Our roads are suffering some extra wear and tear, mainly due to the volume of heavy vehicles using the alternative routes. So far they are holding up okay.

"The alternative routes are quite narrow and winding in places, so we route the trucks north through Paparoa and south via Cove Rd as it is easier for the bigger vehicles to manoeuvre in these directions with only mostly one way traffic.

"We are getting some seal stripping and minor pavement damage as a result of the trucks, but we can generally manage this through our usual maintenance programme."

The NZ Transport Agency is on track to reopen SH1 tomorrow, said spokeswoman Jacqui Hori-Hoult.

"Everything will depend on the weather and our final safety checks.

"There's still a lot of work to be done, but we are aware of the disruption the closure is causing and working as hard we can to wrap everything up before the weekend."

Meanwhile in the Far North, slips along Mangakahia Rd mean the road has been reduced to one lane in places.