Village Vintage Treasure owner Steve Hamer says he and wife Wendy have been bracing for more damage as trucks go past in Hikurangi. Photo / Denise Piper
Village Vintage Treasure owner Steve Hamer says he and wife Wendy have been bracing for more damage as trucks go past in Hikurangi. Photo / Denise Piper
Hikurangi residents are holding their breath for a detour of State Highway 1 traffic through the town to finish this week.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi has been rebuilding the road surface of SH1 at Hikurangi since November 11, with southbound traffic diverted through the village night and day.
The detour is not suitable for large and over-dimension trucks, which are queued and escorted through the roadworks every 20 minutes.
But trucks have been rattling through the town anyway, with some struggling to fit on the town’s bridge, say residents and business owners, who believed the detour turn-off should have been monitored.
Antique store Village Vintage Treasure had $300 worth of damage on the first night of the detour, from stock being rattled and smashed, owner Wendy Hamer said.
“Within the first day, all of these trucks kept driving through, including massive logging trucks just zooming through. We had $300 worth of damage that came off the walls.”
Hamer tried to send an invoice for the damage to the contractors, but was told securing stock was her responsibility.
Worse than the damage was the fact parking in the centre of the village, opposite many of the town’s shops and the popular bakery, was blocked off with fixed safety cones.
Hamer said she was told this was to improve safety around the pedestrian crossing but the actual result was more dangerous driving.
“I have got videos and photos of cars and trucks acting quite dangerously just to get a park: they were parking the wrong way down the road, parking on the pedestrian crossing, including two contractor trucks parking illegally just to get a pie.”
Two weeks into the roadworks, the fixed safety posts were removed and the parking opened again. Hamer said the detour has worked quite well since then, with motorists being inspired to stop in the village.
The roadworks come at the end of a hard year for antique store Village Vintage Treasure, say owners Steve (pictured) and Wendy Hamer. Photo / Denise Piper
The roadworks come on top of a hard year for the store, which was heavily impacted by SH1 being closed at the Brynderwyns, which put off Aucklanders coming north, she said.
“I just about cried when I saw the cones and that there was no parking, with no consultation [with businesses].
“When I was ringing [NZTA], people didn’t know where Hikurangi was — they’re making these massive decisions about our town and they don’t know where we are.”
Most trucks allowed on detour, NZTA says
But Jacqui Hori-Hoult, NZTA regional manager for Auckland and Northland, said the roadworks were on a part of SH1 used by 10,000 vehicles a day and the southbound detour was designed to minimise disruption to Hikurangi.
“For example, closing the entire highway would force 100% of the state highway traffic — except high-productivity motor vehicles (HPMVs) — to travel through Hikurangi, which would expedite repairs but place greater impact on the community.
Hikurangi locals say it is crazy no one monitors whether or not trucks use the detour off State Highway 1. Photo / Denise Piper
“Conversely, a stop/go operation would create significant delays, which would likely result in traffic detouring itself through the town.”
Hori-Hoult said NZTA received feedback about trucks using the detour but most trucks could lawfully drive through the town.
Large trucks, including HPMVs are not permitted to drive through the route due to their size or weight, and are taken through the roadworks by periodically stopping northbound traffic. At peak times, the trucks are grouped to lessen the northbound queues, she said.
Any damage caused by trucks driving through the town was the responsibility of the business owner.
“The secure display of items within the antique store is the responsibility of the business owner, particularly in areas in close proximity to a road.”
Hori-Hoult said the car parks immediately approaching the southbound pedestrian crossing were temporarily closed off to ensure clear sight-lines to the pedestrian crossing, as parked vehicles could obscure waiting pedestrians.
“With increased traffic, there was a need to mitigate this risk.
Hikurangi locals say there is less dangerous driving around the pedestrian crossing now the secure cones blocking the parking have gone. Photo / Denise Piper
“The impact on local businesses is always taken into consideration, but safety is our top priority. In this case, it’s fantastic that an additional parking lot in the area was made available.”
The fixed safety cones were unlawfully removed, which Hori-Hoult said was frustrating as it compromised road safety and added to costs.
The roadworks will be finished on Friday, as planned, but the exact time is still to be confirmed, she said.
Hikurangi a ‘cool little town’, locals say
The roadworks will finish just in time for the Hikurangi Christmas Parade and Festival, with activities starting at 9am on Saturday.
Hikurangi Friendship House chairwoman and real estate agent Rachel Burnard said the town was looking forward to getting back to some normality.
She, too, had noticed the large trucks detouring through the town at speed and being unable to fit on the town’s narrow bridge.
Burnard said it was crazy no one was monitoring the detour turn-off, given how many contractors were posted at the southern end of the roadworks with trucks and lollipops.
“They spend millions putting thousands of cones out [by the pedestrian crossing], but they don’t have the common sense to put workers on the other end,” she said.
“The bad thing was the massive trucks coming through and no one stopping them.”
But Burnard said the roadworks won’t ruin Hikurangi, with the town all set to go back to normal.
“We’re a cool little town ... We’re like the Ponsonby of Whangārei.”
Lessons learnt, Te Kamo detour running at night, NZTA says
When asked if there have been any lessons learnt from the problems with the Hikurangi detour, Hori-Hoult said NZTA was continually reviewing all roadworks to see what worked well and what could have worked better.
“We also work closely with our partners Whangārei District Council and police to inform our decisions.”
Upcoming works are planned for SH1 at Kamo Bypass but, with heavy traffic through this area, work will be done at night, she said.
“To help mitigate the impact in such a high-volume area, this work will be conducted at night and may utilise full and/or partial detours depending on construction requirements. These impacts will be clearly communicated to road users and the community.”
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.
