Crash spurs calls to ban trucks from detour route
First day of Brynderwyns highway closure and a logging-truck crash causes chaos
There are calls for trucks to be banned from a second Brynderwyns detour route in Northland after a logging truck crashed and blocked both lanes within 24 hours of the SH1 closure.
Police were notified of the incident, where the logging truck rolled on the Paparoa-Oakleigh Rd detour route south of Waiotira Rd in the Mangapai area, just after 12.30pm on Monday, causing major delays.
The road was closed and diversions were in place while the truck was removed, while NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi ( NZTA) advised motorists to delay their journeys or use an alternative route. No one was hurt.
The road was reopened just before 5pm.
The 10-week closure of SH1 over the Brynderwyn Hills began at midnight on Sunday so repairs can be carried out to repair last year’s storm damage.
Trucks and truck and trailer units up to 50 tonnes are allowed on Paparoa-Oakleigh Rd, which is also a suggested route for light vehicles.
High-productivity motor vehicles (HPMV) must use SH12 and SH14 through Dargaville.
Truck and trailer units have been banned from the Waipū and Mangawhai detour, which is reserved for light vehicles only.
Northland Chamber of Commerce president and Whangārei business owner Tim Robinson said PaparoaOakleigh Rd wasn’t suitable for large trucks.
While light delivery trucks were okay, “full-blown truck and trailer units” were not, Robinson said.
“Just because they’re under 50 tonnes doesn’t mean they’re ideally suited for that road.
“It’s too narrow and windy to sustain trucks that size.
“50 tonnes does cover a big truck.” But Robinson said there were a large number of transport operators “stuck between a rock and a hard place because they can’t charge more for the extra kilometres, time and road user charges to go through Dargaville”.
“A lot of smaller operators are on fixed price contracts, they can’t turn around and say your rates have gone up while I have to travel an extra 100km and spend another three hours on the road.
“They’ve got real issues still earning an income, but not creating unsafe situations on the road.”
Whangārei resident Grant Caldwell said the “linehaul guys and girls should not be using that road at all”.
“Those trucks are used to the state highway network, they’re not used to the rural roads.
“To send all trucks round Dargaville is going to cripple us financially, but the road [Brynderwyns] has got to be fixed.”
NZTA has confirmed the logging truck that crashed was a “50 max so it was allowed on Paparoa-Oakleigh Rd”.
NZTA regional relationships director Steve Mutton assured motorists and the Paparoa-Oakleigh community that NZTA was “working hard to support the Northland network” following the crash.
“Today marks the first day of the SH1 Brynderwyn Hills closure and while this is not what we had hoped for, our teams have planned for any events like this on the detour routes and have been able to respond swiftly,” Mutton said.
National Road Carriers transport specialist Paula Rogers said the police Commercial Vehicle Investigation team was at the site and would look into the cause of the crash.
Rogers said she was disappointed one had happened so early in the process but “we’ll wait and see what the reason is behind it”.
“I drove that detour route about three times and was really impressed with the amount of work done on that road.
“There’s no reason for there to be incidents, we don’t know the cause of this.”
Rogers said the freight sector had worked hard with NZTA to prepare for the closure and truckies were familiar with the detour routes and regulations.