Half of Hughes Line will be closed from tomorrow while Carterton District Council [CDC] urgently repairs the road’s battered gravel shoulders.
The narrow section between East Taratahi and Cornwall Roads will be closed to all traffic except residents for the duration of the work, which is expected to last a week, weather dependant.
The repairs will focus on reinstating the gravel shoulder and addressing other maintenance issues caused by the increase in traffic volume.
Since the SH2 roadworks started slowing traffic to a crawl in August last year, Hughes Line has changed from a quiet rural road to a busy thoroughfare, acting for many motorists as a de-facto state highway between Masterton and Carterton.
The extra traffic has damaged the road surface, especially the gravel shoulders, which have become severely eroded.
Police have reported an increase in dangerous driving on Hughes Line, and last week multiple residents reported that the road surface damaged several vehicles. Last Friday, locals sent the council a letter requesting urgent repairs, which over 60 residents endorsed.
CDC announced the repair job yesterday and asked motorists to use alternative routes where possible.
Traffic controllers will be in place on Hughes Line from Friday, initially for 24 hours a day – although the need for this will be e-evaluated daily, starting Saturday, to determine if it’s still required, a council spokesperson said.
Hughes Line residents Terry Craig, Pat Gallagher, and Lynne McCartney said in a joint statement that they appreciate the council’s commitment to repairing the damage.
“We understand that following the completion of the section from Cornwall Rd to East Taratahi Rd, the rest of Hughes Line will be repaired.,” they said.
“We are also pleased to hear from the council that the temporary limit of 70 km per hour will be extended to the whole of Hughes Line immediately.”
It’s not wide enough for two cars to drive passed each other.
What will the Ambulance and Police use if that’s blocked?
They can’t go down number 2 from the south end of Masterton to Carterton because of the other badly managed roadworks
Good news but you new all this would happen to the rural road if not why. You have Traffic management and there is no gravel shoulder all grass up to road edge I have photos.