4 September 2019

It’s unanimous – the 1.8km stretch of new seal on the Waimata Valley Road has made a big difference to many since its completion in May.

Ange Tane has lived on Waimata Valley Road for eight years and for much of those she has driven the school bus, travelling the road up to six times a day.

“It’s made an amazing difference. It is a very busy road now. When I first moved there, there was no traffic but now it is a very well-used road. It is awesome to have this done.”

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Waimata Valley Road is a high use road, not just by residents but by forestry, farming and people using it as a thoroughfare to the East Coast.

Locals have long pushed for the work to be done on the unsealed stretch that would be affected by the winter rain and severe dust in the summer.

Local farmer Roger Utting says it’s definitely a big improvement.

“It was quite a wet piece of road in the winter. The shade meant it never really dried out. It is so much more comfortable now. We are all very happy to see this part done.”

Anna Bailie also lives on Waimata Valley Road.

“Those rough unsealed roads are so hard on your vehicles when you are going up and down all the time and in the winter it would just turn to soup. It is wonderful for it to be done.

Cyclists also like to use the road and Gisborne Cycling Club manager Stephen Sheldrake says the new tar seal allows them to go that much further.

A lot of rides for road cyclists include Waimata Valley Road, so this is great to see. This seal extension certainly helps road cyclists.”

The total cost of the seal extension was approximately $510,000 and was funded by the National Land Transport Fund and Provincial Growth Fund.

ENDS

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