Seal Is Great News For Garbolino Road Residents

Garbolino Road residents and users are trading some short term pain for long term gain while Kaipara District Council upgrades and seals the strategic road near Mangawhai.

It is Tara residents’ most direct road to Kaiwaka and also an alternative route from Mangawhai Heads to Kaiwaka, bypassing Mangawhai Village. Along with Cove Road it also provides the most direct alternative from Kaiwaka to Waipu, apart from using the state highway.

Contractors, Donovan Drainage and Earthmoving Limited, began at the Kaiwaka/Mangawhai Road end in March, working towards Tara Road. They hope to finish by mid June.

Recent wet weather has slowed progress somewhat but by last week (May 5) 90 per cent of earthworks were completed and one kilometre at the Kaiwaka/Mangawhai Road end has been stabilised.

Unfortunately the work has necessitated removing a kauri tree from a corner when it was decided that it was not possible to obtain a safe road alignment and the necessary width without removing the kauri or it being killed by the road works.

The contractors have written to residents advising that the project will cause some disruption and are advising them to use Tara Road as an alternative through route.

The sealing contract is costing $725,000 of which Land Transport New Zealand is paying 70 percent.

Council’s joint Roading portfolio holder Tom Smith, who lives at Mangawhai, says the seal will be a great improvement for residents who have seen traffic volumes on their road increasing rapidly, including a lot of heavy vehicles. As a result the surface was often in poor repair.

There is more good news for Mangawhai and Kaiwaka residents as Deputy Mayor and fellow portfolio holder, Richard Alspach, says the Council has obtained funding which will allow Baldrock Road to be tendered for sealing.

Kaipara District Council’s policy is to seal the districts heaviest trafficked roads that qualify for Central Government subsidy.