Truck topples Napier streetlight, traffic briefly delayed

A contractor’s reversing truck bowled over a streetlight in Napier, causing minor delays and slight damage to the road.

The pole on Kennedy Road, near the on-ramp to the Hawke’s Bay Expressway, was struck down shortly after 12.30pm on Tuesday.

Jacob Laird, principal project manager with New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, said that a contractor working on utility investigations as part of the nearby expressway widening project “regrettably” reversed into the streetlight, knocking it to the ground.

“No one was harmed as a result of the fall,” Laird said.

“The area was quickly made safe, and the damaged pole and debris cleared from the site.

“Work is under way to reinstate the pole and replace the light as quickly as possible, at the contractor’s cost.”

Laird said NZTA apologises for any inconvenience caused and is working with the contractor to understand exactly what happened.

A Napier City Council spokeswoman said the felled streetlight caused 3-5 minute delays to traffic on Kennedy Rd as the streetlight was removed to the side of the road “straight after the incident”.

A road crew clears a streetlight that fell over when it was hit by a reversing truck on Kennedy Rd, Napier. Photo / Jack Riddell

Damage to the surface of the road would be monitored and repaired if needed, she said.

Hawke’s Bay Today went to the scene on Tuesday afternoon where road workers and a sweeper truck were tidying up smashed glass from the light and taking the pole away.

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and spent the last 15 years working in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier. He reports on all stories relevant to residents of the region.