This week, workers on State Highway 43 in the Central North Island completed the final seal of the road, making it the final stretch of state highway to be tar-sealed.
“Watching that last bit of tar seal go down was really emotional for me,” site traffic management worker Raylene Quinn said.
Now, all of New Zealand’s official state highways are now sealed. It’s except for a section of gravel on SH38 north of Wairoa however, as the stretch of road is classified as a special purpose road and managed by the council – making it a grey area.
The completed sealing of SH43, the Forgotten World Highway, has locals torn in the town of Whangamōmona, with a population of just over 100.
The sealing has cost almost $13 million, with around $30 million invested in the highway to make the road safer and more accessible. As a result, the area is expected to get more tourists as many vehicle rental companies prohibit travel on unsealed roads.
Whangamōmona reacts
Locals in Whangamōmona, which has jokingly declared itself a republic since 1989, had both positive and negative reactions to the change.
The Whangamōmona Republic used to have a goat as its president, but now it has a president called John Herlihy, who spoke to 1News about his thoughts.
“They’ve stuffed our road to get into the Tāngarākau Gorge, you know, we’ve had metal trucks here for two-three years just carting metal to fix 11 kilometres, and they’ve actually just buggered our road,” president John Herlihy said.
“From here to Stratford is terrible.”
Meanwhile, Pork Hutchinson, expected to be the next president of Whangamōmona, said the workers have done a great job with the new road.
The owner of the Whangamōmona Hotel, Richard Pratt, added that he was excited about more traffic as it could lift the potential earnings of his business.
But one local told 1News the highway should’ve been left as it was because it was a unique part of New Zealand. Another said more tourists in the area are a concern because he said they often don’t know which side of the road to drive on.
“You see people coming through in the middle of the road, and think what’s going on.”