Concern over poor road route alternatives

remember to take it easy on the roads and not race to get here,” Betts said.

“With the Mangamuka Gorge closure, our alternatives aren’t ideal for what we have existing and what we’re about to have in the summertime.

“It’s a real concern already, but then you also have technology telling people to come through the Broadwood-Herekino Rd which isn’t good, even for those who know it.”

Betts concurred, however, that fixing the roads was a double-edged sword.

“People obviously want that to happen, but they also get upset when there are delays,” she said.

“I think it would be really helpful if the engineering and education components of Waka Kotahi spoke to each other and fed into the concerns of the public that way.

“As the education component, we could advocate from the public’s point of view and relay some of their messages back out. We definitely have to work together on this one.”

Nationally, Waka Kotahi is planning to reseal or rebuild approximately 2450 lane kilometres of the state highway network, equivalent to 10 per cent of the network.

The roading agency’s plan to reduce the region’s state highway network speed limit to 80km/h was said to still be pending.

To find out if your trip may be affected, visit: www.journeys.nzta. govt.nz/