The second stage of Wainui Road’s safety improvement programme will require the closure of the section of the road between McCoy and Stanley Roads between 9 am and 3:30 pm each day, from Monday, 23 March until Friday, 27 March.

The closures are required to allow trees which are either shading the road or too close to power lines to be safely removed, and the work will be undertaken in conjunction with Horizon Energy Distribution Limited. Through traffic will be diverted via McCoy and Stanley Roads during the closure periods. Access will be provided for residents living in the road closure area, but delays may be encountered.

A similar tree removal programme was undertaken on the eastern end of Wainui Road late last year, together with the installation of new curve safety warning signs and linemarking improvements. The current work programme has also seen some 170 metres of new guardrails installed on the harbour-edge section of the road, approximately four kilometres south-east of Ōhope.

Whakatāne District Council Infrastructure General Manager, Tomasz Krawczyk, says the safety improvements result from a crash study completed last year, which responded to concerns raised by a number of people who use the road frequently. Future activities to be completed progressively over the next nine years include skid resistance monitoring, road widening, ‘shape correction’ and the installation of additional guardrails.

“Signs notifying of the work programme will be in place leading up to and during the closure period, and residents living throughout the Wainui Road and Kutarere area will have letters delivered to advise them of the situation,” Mr Krawczyk says. “The diversion route is fully sealed but covers winding roads, and we would suggest that people travelling between Whakatāne and Ōpōtiki during that week consider taking SH2 via Tāneatua instead.”

The Council apologises for any inconvenience caused to road users.