From The Roadworker's Log...

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When you first arrive at an accident scene and see the rescue helicopter, it is with mixed feelings.


Obviously someone is injured, but it is good to see professionals on the job. Medical help is scarce in rural communities.


Here we have a logging truck and trailer on it's side. The trailer is over the bank, most of the logs also, but quite a few are on the road. With the truck across the road like this nobody is going anywhere soon.


Before the helicopter has lifted off, cleanup begins, engine oil being dealt with here.


The helicopter leaves for Taranaki Base Hospital, sometimes Waikato.


A digger is rounded up, and ushered through the banked up, waiting traffic.
It is offloaded onto the road.


It pushes the logs off the road


And as it is starts to get dark, lifts the truck onto it's wheels


The truck is dragged over to the north lane of the road, and now we can let traffic through till the crane arrives.


The crane has to lift the trailer onto the wrecked truck


Some hours later, the truck is finally loaded onto a transporter and taken away.
The road is cleaned up and made safe and then it's Home Time!


Then at dawn this morning the logs are recovered and loaded onto another truck.
A truck mounted grab does this, you can see the operator sitting up there under the lights.

At lunch we read about it in the paper (probably short term link)

Then it's away to clear slips on Mt. Messenger.

Oh it's all fun on the road....

The Recovery begins ...

This is a very manly crane. It can lift 120 tonnes and has a humungerous reach.
I noticed the tare weight was 61 tonnes.

When you are recovering a truck, nothing happens till the cranes arrive.
You usually need two, to rotate the wreck onto it's wheels.

There are also support trucks and vehicles carrying counterweights, pads, chains and lifting paraphenalia.

Truckies know that when the cranes arrive the road will be closed, so the CB 's run hot as they try and beat the closure.

The pole in the background carries an 11kv power line, It runs up to the bluff in the background and is a long way off the ground.


The Driver, in white shirt, watches as the lift begins.

Up and over the power lines.

And back to road level

The next trick is to get it onto it's wheels.
In this case it will be rotated lengthways.

Each crane has an end each.

Then, alas, just as it was nearly on it's wheels the side burst.
Curtain-Sider trucks will do this.

So we know we are in for a clean up.

Now, also, you get an idea of how lucky the driver was to walk away from this crash.

Waiting in the wings is this sexy heavy tow truck.
I asked the driver what it can lift
"Most Things" he said

The trucks remaining load is secured till it can be off loaded a short distance away
and the truck is towed away.

As darkness falls, the last of the rubbish is cleared away.
The road has been liberally annointed with an absorbent mineral powder.
"Slippery" signs will be left up and a speed restriction set overnight.
Then it's hometime.....
A long hot day...

Rolling Tar.

A long day today. This tanker with about 23000 litres of hot tar aboard fell over north of the Awakino Gorge this morning.

The driver, was remarkably lucky, and though cut and bruised, was not seriously injured.

The real fun ( and traffic hold ups ) start with the arrival of the cranes.


The first part of the recovery exercise went smoothly and the tractor unit was detached, and lifted onto a recovery truck.

There was some concern about the tank rupturing and spewing 140 degree tar everywhere. We were lucky and the spillage was small.


We dumped dirt on it with a front end loader, and then scraped the road clean.

But what a long hot hungry day...