Editorial: Lake Rd chaos price of progress

Lake Rd  would have to be one of the worst roads in Rotorua city and it can only be good news that it is finally getting a much-needed upgrade.

The road is in a shocking state. It is also narrow and congested and the bridge is a dangerous pinch point.

Widening the road and getting rid of the old bridge will be a huge improvement.

It's understandable, however, that people who run businesses along there have concerns about the affect on them of months of roadworks.

Unfortunately, the disruptions are unavoidable on such a big job and all we can hope for is that the weather doesn't extend what's already expected to be a lengthy process.

Four-laning of one of the city's busiest roads is expected to take 18 months and that is going to cause major disruptions - for businesses and residents along the road and for the thousands of motorists and pedestrians who use it every day.

It's going to require the road being closed completely for up to a month while the old railway bridge is removed and inevitably, other major roads will become more congested while people avoid the roadworks.

Unfortunately, the inconvenience the four-laning work will cause is the price of progress and improvement.

The council, of course, hasn't the endless resources it would require to compensate for any losses businesses may incur so, sadly, there may be casualties if businesses lose so much they are forced to shut up shop altogether.

We sincerely hope it won't come to that.