Seal of approval

Alex Wright is delighted contractors have started work on sealing strips of Wright Rd. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Residents have welcomed the sealing of strips of notoriously dusty roads west of Whangarei that have plagued them for decades but remain sceptical the roadworks will provide the relief they need.

Whangarei District Council contractor Transfield Services began sealing 10 strips of 100m roads along Wright, McCardle and Pipiwai Roads yesterday and the work is expected to be completed by December.

The council allocated $400,000 over the next two years for the sealing after the New Zealand Transport Agency declined a $4.5 million funding request this year for a full 9km seal of Wright Rd and McCardle Rd.

Since the work is expected to cost $532,000, the council will ask logging and trucking industries to make up the $132,000 shortfall.

Council's infrastructure committee chairman, Councillor Greg Martin, said the partial sealing was at least a start and his preference was to get government funding for the entire seal.

"I also want to have a health and benefit criteria included in the ratio, which is not there at present.

"There are another 100 sites throughout the district where houses are close to roads that need to be looked into.

"We just have to keep working on it."

Pipiwai Titoki Advocacy for Community Health and Safety Group spokeswoman Alex Wright said the council needed to finish it off.

"It's a start but the dust is still fairly bad and we need to have the rest of the unsealed roads sealed."

Logging trucks dragged dust for about 100m behind them along the new seal, Ms Wright added.

Rob and Liz Griffin, who live on the corner of Wright Rd and McCardle Rd, said the forestry sector would continue to have a presence in the area which meant dust would continue to be a problem.

"When we bought our property in 1984, we didn't envisage the potential of this [dust] to happen.

"One can certainly envisage areas up here are extremely good at growing trees and I can see that [dust problem] continuing in future."

Puti Tipene said the council would save money on maintenance costs, if it sealed the dusty roads in full.

Over the coming years, the council said it would look to continue to seal short strips on other metal roads with similar challenges.