Christmas cheer is in short supply on Waikato roads this week, as they were visited by another round of inclement weather, which has affected both road conditions and progress on critical road renewals.
A number of potholes have emerged following rain on Wednesday night, and these have been either temporarily or permanently repaired. Flooding and slips throughout the Coromandel region are being attended to, with the aim of clearing the majority of these before the weekend.
Three road reconstruction sites are in progress throughout the central Waikato area, and road users will need to drive with care through these sites.
The three sites and key information is as follows:
The detour that has been in place for northbound light vehicles has been removed, and portable traffic lights are now in place to manage traffic. Unsafe driver behaviour has driven a need to keep crews as far away from moving traffic as possible. It is crucial that road users respect temporary speed limits and take care through the site, as poor driver behaviour will make it harder for crews to prepare the site for holiday traffic.
Reconstruction work has been paused until the morning of Sunday 18 December, at which point crews will aim to place a temporary seal over the site to ensure it is trafficable for two lanes of traffic throughout the Christmas and New Year holiday period.
Crews will return early in the New year to complete the reconstruction, at which point the northbound detour will be re-established.
Crews have disestablished from site until Sunday 18 December, when they will repair any areas damaged by rain and/or traffic over the weekend. Following this the site will be sealed prior to Christmas, weather permitting.
The reconstruction process is complete, and crews have been waiting for a window of dry weather to seal the site. Crews are hopeful that they can complete this prior to Christmas, however this is dependent on weather.
All of the above sites will have temporary speed limits until sites are sealed, swept and linemarked. Adhering to the posted speed limit is important, as it ensures that both the road structure and new seal are not damaged. If sites are damaged this can result in further work for crews - and further disruption for road users.
As part of the construction process all sites will receive a second coat of chipseal in approximately 12 months’ time. This gives time for the road to settle, and prevents premature flushing from occurring.
