The Invercargill City Council (ICC) started work to upgrade the Stead St stopbank on Monday, resulting in changes to traffic flow in the area for about six months.
People will be able to travel from central Invercargill to Otatara via Stead St but people in Otatara who want to get to Invercargill will have to do so via Otatara and Bay Rds.
Chief executive officer Chris Fleming had an informal conversation about the matter with SDHB board member and city councillor Lesley Soper before the Southland hospital advisory committee meeting yesterday.
"We’re dealing with an issue with the council. There are some big roadworks starting today. It’s going to take six months, and lots of our doctors live at the end of that road.
‘‘So we’re going to have to be paying them to stay in town overnight in certain specialties because they can’t get to the hospital quickly enough."
Mrs Soper said the detour would not add a lot of time to their trips. Mr Fleming said it would add about 10 minutes.
He explained it would not be for everyone, but some staff such as anaesthetists and emergency department doctors had to be in the hospital within 15 minutes from the call.
‘‘It’s just too slow."
The roadworks and the closure of Otatara’s main access to Invercargill have caused concern in the community.
Many residents have criticised the decision and a post on social media attracted hundreds of comments.
Professionals real estate agent and auctioneer Tim Frampton has been living in the area for more than 20 years and said the closure of the main road would be very disruptive.
"There are 1185 dwellings out here, approximately 4400 people, 2000 car movements going in [to Otatara] and 2000 going out in a day. It is one of the busiest roads in Invercargill."
He noticed an increase in traffic in the area.
‘‘There is much more built-up traffic in the new route. People are not happy about it but it is what it is."
ICC manager, engineering services, Jeremy Rees said last week the Stead St stopbank upgrade was a key climate resilience project which would reinforce the stopbank with a sheet pile wall.
He said to complete this work, large cranes and machinery would have to be placed directly on the road.
‘‘We understand the frustrations of Otatara residents but this is a once-in-a-generation project.
‘‘The stopbank has not been upgraded since its construction in the early 1900s and the consequences of not undertaking this work are significant, including potential loss of the stopbank, the road and surrounding land, including the Invercargill Airport."
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Comments
A compromise solution would be to swap over the direction of traffic flow, then the specialists would have only the 30km/hr restriction to contend with. Does it really have to be that low when the work site is not manned?