By Charlotte Shipman
Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee has been called a road block when it comes to future plans for the Manawatu Gorge Road.
The road which links the Manawatu with Hawkes Bay has been closed since last August because of a massive slip causing around seven hundred trucks to snake through the Saddle Road detour every day.
And after seeing the cause of the congestion for the first time, Mr Brownlee says it is not his fault.
“I’ve never caused a landslip before. I’ve done a lot of other silly things, but never a landslide,” he says.
Although Mr Brownlee is not the cause, Labour’s Palmerston North MP is calling him a road block when it comes to making sure the two alternative routes are up to carrying 7,000 diverted cars and trucks.
“We’re feeling overlooked, we’re feeling like the Government isn’t interested in the needs of the region and the needs of our province, and the least the government could do is take a look at those options,” says Iain Lees-Galloway, Labour MP for Palmerston North.
The Government says it will look into upgrading the detour roads after the gorge is re-opened, but that is months away, and impatience is growing on the heavily used, but unsuitable, Saddle Road.
The alternative road is narrow and winding with some corners so tight they are difficult for a truck and trailer to navigate, making it slow going.
And frustrated drivers are taking risks.
“People trying to take shortcuts through the village of Ashutst and taking side streets then speeding to get around and beat the trucks – it’s not safe,” says Palmerston North Mayor Jono Naylor.
Within the gorge, it is a steady stream of trucks taking away the biggest problem, six cubic metres at a time.
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