Road closures NZ

A woman whose car tyre was punctured after hitting three potholes along Taranaki's main highway says the state of the road is "pathetic".

Our cars have to be up to the standard of the road but the road is not up to the standard of our cars. He said it was time Waka Kotahi “stopped the platitudes and did the work" to fix the roads properly and get them up to standard. O'Sullivan, who said he regularly drives from New Plymouth to Hāwera, said he had complained about the state of the road to the local MP Steph Lewis and questioned how much of the region's road user charges and taxes were being spent on the highway. “We're going to have to start a protest against paying our road user charges. Dillon O'Sullivan said it wasn't just New Plymouth to Eltham that was bad the potholes extended all the way to Hāwera. It said there were "a large number of potholes between New Plymouth and Eltham". Neilson said the potholes were half a metre to a metre in size. Tariki has long been a problem area for potholes and Waka Kotahi has come under heat in recent months for the state of the highway in the region. Nielson said he’d seen at least eight to 10 cars on the side of the road with punctures. Ngatai said someone else had to pick up her daughter from the airport, and they “had to have our reunion on the side of the road”. The timber machinist said he was driving from Eltham to New Plymouth at just after 5am when he heard an “almighty bang” just before a bridge. The damage cost motorists tyres, mags, and wages, and one Stratford resident said the state of Taranaki’s roads was so bad it was going to lead to protests.