Roadworks in progress.

AA ROADWATCH

Current Incidents: North Island
SH3 between Awakino and Piopio
Land Slip - Extreme care required

Another morning, another slip. Just a dark mass in the headlights where there should be road. When there is torrential rain you can be on them before you know it. An SUV driver before me found that out, and the local mechanic made a few bucks.

The first thing we try and do is give some warning.
We will either stay there and use our flashing yellow lights, or get some road cones and signs out.

We get a sign truck on site, and set up a full set of signs with speed restrictions.
At the depot the front end loader is loaded onto a transport trailer and towed out by a six wheel truck.

Soon we are back and forth, carting away from the loader to the nearest tipping site.
If it is a short cart we can really make inroads quickly.
If we have to go any distance it can be a long job.
Today we only had to go half a kilometre.
There may be gates to open and close.(stock in the paddock)
The other problem is soft ground at the tip site. Trucks chew up the ground quickly.
In no time you and the truck are covered in mud.
The truck tail gate can be swung to open like a door.
Slips are full of tree roots, trees & branches, and big rocks.
I usually swing the tail gate open and closed, it is better than having a huge muddy mass jammed up, if you open it normally, from inside the truck.
The down side is that you stop at the tip site;
Get out of the truck,open the paddock gate, drive in.
Get out of the truck. Swing the Tail Gate open.
Get back into the truck. Tip off the load.
Get out of the truck. Close the tail gate.
Get in the truck. Drive through the gate.
Get out of the truck, close the gate.
Drive to Site, Repeat, X times.
It is of course pissing down.

And Yet we get a buzz out of getting our road open.
It's our job.

Another Nautical Post

I think a farm worker might be in a bit of strife here. The tractor has been ramming fence posts which have been carried on the forks of the front end loader. The posts are now seaward bound, and soon they will need to row to the tractor.
A high tide and a bit of a fresh in the Awakino River have caused someone some ribbing at the local pub.

"Mostly cloudy today, with a few showers. A period of rain tomorrow, with heavy falls in Taranaki"

Oh well, back to potholes, and clammy wet weather gear. Mind you, there are optimistic signs out there. The willow trees are starting to show a tinge of green, the mornings are starting to get lighter, and the ducks are breeding along with the potholes.
���One skill you have to learn rather quickly on the job is the simple art of pulling off to the side of the road. The shoulders are muddy and soft at this time of the year, and to get a truck off the road without getting stuck is a feat in itself. We chew through left hand tires, & mirrors can get a bashing as you squeeze into impossible places against banks and vegetation. The fact that more and more crash barriers are being put in on corners often means we can't get off the road. Over time you learn all the spots where you can pull off safely. This especially important if you have the front end loader on a transporter trailer, and need to get it close to a slip. The smaller vehicles which are used for sign maintenance etc are modified for the job. They often have a shortened chassis & so can do a U turn on a narrow road with ease. My truck needs a bit of room, and when I do get stuck, it is often sensationally so. So far this winter I have been stuckless, but I better not get smug.
Rest Area 300m

On a shitty day, even the mind goes numb, feet swell, legs ache, wet weather gear goes clammy. It pays to keep an eye out for Stock Trucks that can litterally shower you with shit.