Roadworks cop blame for traffic snarl ups

Too many untended roadworks are nearly doubling weekend drives to Auckland, a Hamilton woman says.

For 25 years, Jane Baker has taken the same route to visit her sister at Herne Bay, almost every month.

But on Sunday evening, it was the worst it’s been.

Roadworks meant the trip – usually an hour and 40 minutes – took three hours.

Vehicles were crawling at

5-10kmh along State Highway 1 for more than an hour, often grinding to a halt, Baker said.

One man even took his dog out for a quick walk while the traffic was at a standstill.

The snag began around Ohinewai, taking Baker more than an hour to get to Mercer, usually a

20-minute trip.

Two lanes in Mercer had been reduced to one for no obvious reason and while a torrent of road cones lined the motorway, Baker didn’t see any workers.

‘‘[NZTA] might not actually realise how massive the problem is.’’

In a statement journey manager Liam Ryan said NZTA understood that delays could be frustrating and they were continuing to monitor the journey between Hamilton and Auckland.

‘‘While we have a busy summer roadwork season under way (work we can’t complete during the winter because of the wet weather), we believe the congestion experienced over the weekend was mostly related to people travelling to concerts,’’ Ryan said.

But Baker said traffic heading towards Hamilton was hitting snags, too.

And on a weekend, commuters couldn’t be blamed.

‘‘It was purely interruptions from all the roadworks.

‘‘Whether it’s Auckland peak traffic or not. I’ve never, ever seen anything like that.’’

Baker said it couldn’t all have been down to the many people travelling either to, or from, the Ed Sheeran concerts in Auckland on Saturday and Sunday nights.

‘‘It’s more than Ed Sheeran, obviously.’’