Repairs to the surface of a heavy-duty street in central Martinborough have been fast-tracked following a meeting with council representatives.
Residents of Dublin St have previously complained the surface of their road has degraded, with more recent unrepaired corrugations and potholes causing intermittent and intrusive noise at all hours.
The street is part of a bypass for heavy vehicles around the central square and has traffic at unsocial hours.
A group of residents became frustrated about the ongoing disrepair, which they said has worsened despite complaints to South Wairarapa District Council [SWDC].
Although a fix had not been on the work programme, SWDC representatives met with affected residents last week. A SWDC spokesperson subsequently confirmed work is going ahead this week.
The roading services team started work on repairing Dublin St yesterday “to take advantage of school holidays and reduce the inconvenience to the school”, the spokesperson said.
Residents had been notified in advance, and Fulton Hogan was contracted to do the required maintenance work.
The work is described as “surface levelling”, which involves milling out the faults. A depression is expected to be left for up to 48 hours before filling. It is expected the work will generate short-term noise, but efficiencies are being employed. Workers might need to return to sweep and repaint road markings.
Residents’ concerns have included intrusive noise, ongoing disruption, and possible adverse health consequences.
“We are constantly disrupted by heavy trade vehicles crashing and banging when bouncing on the potholes and undulations in the road,” they told the Times-Age last month.
“These are becoming increasingly disruptive as the road breaks up and subsides.
“Bulk carriers and cattle and sheep transport trucks have steel panels which reverberate like thunder when the truck is jolted by an uneven road.
“You can hear these trucks as they turn the corner from SH53 into Princess St, which is three blocks away, and you can hear their progress banging and crashing from there all along the road, into Dublin St. Banging and banging and crashing all along it until they slow down to turn right into Jellicoe St,” they said.
The noise has been getting worse, the residents said.
A SWDC spokesperson encouraged those affected to engage with the current speed management consultation via its website – swdc.govt.nz – which includes a recommendation to lower the speed on the bypass.
– NZLDR
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
Then there is the noise of truck’s coming into martinborough with there engine brakes bearing away when empty an fully loaded an jake breaking gear changes an forgetting to stop at the stop sign intersection of Princess &Kitchener streets.