Congestion woes in downtown Ashburton increased last week as a contractor of Ashburton District Council removed a street light on the southern end of the Ashburton bridge.
Traffic, already on the increase ahead of long weekend, was bumper-to-bumper through town last Thursday, and at times stationary, catching many out.
Council group manager of infrastructure Neil McCann said a contractor, working on behalf of council and NZTA, was replacing a damaged street light on the side of SH1, near the southern end of the Ashburton River bridge.
It was damaged on December 8, last year.
‘‘The only access to the street pole is via the highway and requests for work on that corridor are handled by NZTA,’’ he said.
“It was left on a lean, and later cut down to a shorter height, to prevent it falling across the highway.”
A spokesperson for NZTA said when NZTA became aware of congestion issues, the team acted to address it with the contractor.
‘‘However, the congestion experienced (Thursday) does highlight the challenges of doing work at any time on this increasingly busy state highway corridor through Ashburton.
“While all parties seek to avoid peak traffic periods and minimise disruption as much as possible, it is not always possible.
‘‘This is why the second Ashburton bridge is such an important development for the town, as it will provide a suitable alternative to the existing SH1 bridge for those travelling in the town.”
