Subscribe to RSSMayor Calls For SHI Warkworth Bypass ASAP
Is the road north heading to Warkworth really chaotic or is the problem just exaggerated at holiday times like now?
Rodney District Mayor Penny Webster thinks it is - and today urged NZTA to prioritise the planned bypass of State Highway 1 west of Warkworth.
A news report spoke of a situation last Sunday, just after Christmas, when northbound queues were stretching 25 kilometres south of the town and some motorists were waiting hours to travel just 2 kilometres.
Mrs Webster says the traffic lights installed at Warkworth intersections on State Highway 1 were causing the delays as they were no longer able to cope with “a massive increase” in traffic over holiday periods.
But she insists it’s not only at Christmas.
“From our point of view, it’s great that we and our northern neighbours are attracting so many visitors. We are proud of what we can offer them year-round and tourism is vitally important to our economy.
“But it’s rapidly getting past the point when we need some firm action on the roading situation around Warkworth.”
“We have to have the by-pass and I know that many motorists, local and visitors, will be hoping it will be sooner rather than later.
8 Comments
What a load of rubbish. I ravel up there a few times a year for family reasons and it is not busy all year round. It’s about 5 days a year. If Penny Webster thinks that’s worth spending $2 billion of taxpayers money on then she dosn’t have a clue. Just as well she and her council wont be around in about 10 months time.
Heh, I knew it wouldn’t be long before the calls started.
One must ask the question of why NZTA are massively upgrading SH1 through Warkworth if they’re going to bypass the place in a few years time?
For the record, I actually support a Warkworth bypass - just not at motorway grade and not as part of a Puhoi-Wellsford “holiday highway”.
There is a bypass, it is called using a bit of common sense/planning your travel.
I agree I support a SH1 by-pass of Warkworth and Wellsford as well but just a by-pass not a motorway Stevy
Isn’t Warkworth already bypassed? Just bad planning provisions meant the highway had to be slowed by speed limits and traffic lights as it was swallowed by the urban area of Warkworth.
I hear SH16 is generally free flowing. I bet the people who use SH16 are laughing all the way to their destination.
I’ve been up there today to see how it flowed and it was fine - but of course there will be issues on the very heavy days of the year such as in a few days when people come back from holiday at the same time.
SH16 is relatively sub-standard though. No passing lanes, very windy etc. etc.
I generally agree that a lot of problems could be fixed by people simply spreading out their trips.
Some years ago I lived on SH 16 at Tauhoa. Ten cars an hour would have the locals remarking on how busy the road was. Sure it is a little winding and places to pass are few and far between but the traffic moves along constantly unlike SH 1 where traffic is often at a stand still. You should have traveled on it when it was metaled. Now that was a road.