New Tariki passing lane concerns

Concerns have been raised about new passing lanes ending too close to the still under-construction Rugby Rd underpass at Tariki.

Stratford resident Michael Freeman, who is also the chief executive at Stratford District Council, alerted the Taranaki Daily News to the passing lanes this week.

The lanes on either side of the underpass head towards the narrow gap, ending 600m before.

"I'm not an engineer but I'm led to the impression that if you've got passing lanes they should go away from an obstacle," Mr Freeman said.

"Otherwise the cars have to speed up then slow down to go through the tunnel."

However, NZ Transport Agency spokesman Errol Christiansen said the subway at Rugby Rd has no effect on the new passing lanes because both lanes finish more than about 600 metres from the subway.

"The new highway is also being constructed to modern open road geometric standards – including through the subway, where the road margins are also protected with guard rail," he said.

"If the direction of the passing lanes had been reversed, they would have ended at side road intersections where other conflicts occur."

Several residents, including Mr Freeman, had noted the opening in the underpass did not look any wider than the original, despite the new pass being built to combat the high number of accidents caused by its narrowness.

In response to this, Mr Christiansen said the new underpass was 12.5 metres between the concrete walls, compared with 7.3 metres for the old structure.

The height is 6 metres compared with 4.7 metres for the old structure, he said.

"And while the opening is sufficient for any very large loads, a separate short section of road has been constructed alongside the subway to accommodate any extraordinary over dimension loads," Mr Christiansen said.

All going well with weather, we expect the project to be completed by April 30, 2010.

Mr Freeman wanted the public to note he was not making his comments in his role as chief executive, simply as a fellow resident. In any case, Tariki was outside the Stratford district.

- © Fairfax NZ News