Crashes on ice close street
A SEVERE frost forced the closure of a central Dunedin street yesterday after several icerelated crashes.
A police spokeswoman said four cars crashed in Heriot Row from 8.20am.
The crashes were near Constitution St.
‘‘The road is slippery and cars are sliding down the hill on the frost. The drivers of the four cars have no injuries.’’
Police closed Heriot Row to vehicles at 8.30am.
The motorists in the crashed cars were given rides to their intended destinations by police officers, she said.
A Mitsubishi Delica crashed at the intersection of Wakari and Burma Rds in Helensburgh about 3.30pm.
Police responded to reports the vehicle hit ‘‘black ice’’ and went down a bank, she said.
Noone was injured in the crash, she said.
Inquiries into yesterday’s crashes were continuing, she said.
MetService meteorologist Andy Best said a ‘‘severe ground frost’’ of 6.9degC was recorded at Dunedin Airport at sunrise yesterday.
A less severe frost was forecast for this morning, he said.
A front with high cloud was forecast to arrive from across the Tasman Sea, which would result in a light frost, he said.
‘‘It might get down to 1degC in Mosgiel.’’
Bruce Van Essen, of Fairfield, yesterday slammed Dunedin City Council contractors for failing to properly grit the ‘‘treacherous’’ main roads in Fairfield, Sunnyvale and Green Island.
When contractors had been deployed to Fairfield and Green Island after a ‘‘strong frost’’ earlier this winter, only a ‘‘very light sprinkle of grit’’ was applied.
‘‘So light that the grit appears to do nothing.’’
Council transport group manager Richard Saunders said road maintenance contractor Downer was responsible for spreading grit and calcium magnesium acetate (CMA), a biodegradable alternative to road salt, throughout the network.
The grit route in Fairfield and Green Island was inspected and gritted yesterday, he said.
Downer laid about 100 tonnes of grit and 4000 litres of CMA throughout the network yesterday.
The quantities spread yesterday were consistent with similar weather events, he said.
Downer closed Heriot Row yesterday at the request of the police.
The road reopened about 1.30pm.
Heriot Row was not on the council’s grit list.
The council aimed to keep the main arterial routes clear and major traffic routes were gritted before 7.30am.
The next priority was busy roads feeding on to arterial routes.
Local roads were not gritted, he said.
The council monitored the spreading of grit and CMA each day through GPS tracking, phone calls, site visits and morning reports.
‘‘While we work to alleviate the hazards, drivers are encouraged to drive to the conditions and be aware of the risks on winter roads.’’
Most motorists yesterday appeared to be driving to the conditions, reducing their speed and increasing their following distances.