Roading projects giving a shot in the arm to regions
The government continues to make good on its promise of improving national and regional roading, with two major projects announced this week which will be well received by road freight operators around the country.
First announced was the Melling Road of Regional Significance (RORS), a grade-separated interchange and bridge on SH2 in the Hutt Valley. Construction will start this year according to the Minister of Transport Chris Bishop, ear marking $1b of investment to improve a major interchange that sees 40,000 vehicles each day.
Not to be outdone, two days later Associate Minister of Transport James Meager announced good news for the South Island with the second Ashburton Bridge being greenlighted. A key part of the South Island supply chain, the bridge has long been on the shopping list for Cantabrians. It will deliver some much-needed resilience to the SH1 network south of Christchurch, to a part of the network which is prone to a major detour if the existing bridge ever became unavailable.
Both of these projects will boost efficiency and resilience to the road freight supply chain, benefitting the regions and the wider national network.
Too much of a good thing…is road works fatigue setting in?
The team at NRC has seen some signs among members of road works fatigue as we come towards the end of the summer works season. Little wonder, with NZTA in road maintenance catch up mode, renewing over 1800 lane kilometres up and down the country. Members with line haul operations across the country will notice the hits to vkts and hours, with detours and delays feeling omni-present. While at times it may feel like everywhere is being fixed all at once, in fact NZTA informs us it is just 7.5% of the network.
Sometimes road works fatigue can spill over into frustration, and the rumour mill can go into overdrive. The Waikato expressway has 8km of lane closed this week between Tamahere and Cambridge this week. Wasn’t it only just built we hear some operators complaining? Further down SH1 others speculate that the same stretch of road that was closed for summer works then re-opened is now closed again – and the contractor is to blame. All valid concerns, but not always right.
Our job at NRC is to sort fact from fiction. We contact the journey manager team and find out the details, and then share it back to members. Nine times out of ten we find the rumour mill has it wrong, and that there are other factors at play – such as an initial build period warranty being expired, or urgent waterproofing being done ahead of the rainy season.
Ignore the rumours flying around – if you want to know the good oil, contact one of our NRC Commercial Transport Specialists and they will let you know what is going on.
In the end, we’ve called for the roads to be fixed, and that is what is happening at pace. NRC welcomes the projects, getting our roading network back into shape helps operators to get the goods through efficiently and with predictable delivery times. The silver lining is the works are being done while the industry volumes are lower than usual – today’s pain is tomorrow’s gain.
Knight in a high-vis vest
On a lighter note, great to see Hawke’s Bay Today celebrate a “Knight in a high-vis vest“ helping a woman and her mobility scooter to cross a busy Taradale road. Truck driver Leon Thompson – who works for NRC member Waste Management – was probably slightly embarrassed to capture a whole lot of unexpected attention for his simple act of kindness. The power of a good deed should never be underestimated – well done Leon for shining a light on how everyday across our industry people do small acts with big consequences – keeping New Zealanders safe up and down our roads.
Justin
Justin Tighe-Umbers
Chief Executive | National Road Carriers Assn
DDI: +64 9 636 2951
