The NZ Transport Agency (Waka Kotahi) has its road crews monitoring the Northland's state highway network to ensure the safe movement of essential goods, like medical supplies to hospitals and food to supermarkets, during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Northland system manager Jacqui Hori-Hoult said all non-essential work had been halted, but maintaining the state highway system was considered vital in order to ensure that critical functions to limit the spread of the virus could continue.
"The Level 4 lockdown requires us to undertake essential maintenance activities only. Unless there are major weather-related events that require slip clearing and damage repairs, the primary and ongoing focus will be on the safety of the network," she said.
"If you see contractors out on the roads during the shutdown period, please remember that they are carrying out essential work to keep us all safe. If you are using the roads during this period, remember to comply with any temporary speed reductions through roadworks to keep workers safe. They are doing vital work, and we all owe them a debt of gratitude."
While no new maintenance work would be started, she added, there was work to complete. Under the Covid-19 restrictions, Waka Kotahi considered essential maintenance to be any unfinished work that contributed to the safe operation and resilience of the transport system.