Community patience is wearing thin, as infrastructure upgrades along Milton’s main street — and the accompanying disruption — continue to be delayed by unexpected complications. A series of potholes, including some of up to 4m long, have appeared along the roadworks’ suburban southbound detour of Centennial Ave, along with neighbours’ concern for property and safety. One resident, who did not wish to be named, told the Otago Daily Times they had witnessed traffic and pedestrian near-misses, as vehicles swerved on to the wrong side of the road to avoid the torn-up road surface. Neighbour Soul George said people were coming upon the potholes suddenly, damaging their vehicles, or forcing them to take dangerous evasive action. ‘‘Watching out the window, a lot of people don’t see [the potholes] till the last second and hit them pretty hard,” Mr George said. ‘‘They’ve got me a couple of times and now I’m having to put air in my tyre every couple of days, [and] as people drive around they’re starting new potholes over the other side.’’ [Missing Credit]A truck passes another large pothole outside Milton’s Ashlea Grove Rest Home on the town’s Centennial Ave on Monday afternoon. Photo: Nick Brook NZTA spokesman Jarrod Booker said, despite being on State Highway 1, the roadworks were the responsibility of Clutha District Council. ‘‘The work happening . . . in Milton is Clutha District Council’s project, but NZTA does have to approve the temporary traffic management that the council puts in place and manages at the affected sites,” he said. ‘‘Any necessary maintenance or repair to damages on a detour route, in this case a local road managed by the council, is also their responsibility.” A council spokeswoman acknowledged ownership of the project, but could not comment on a timeline for its resolution. The original work began in January, at which time it was projected to take three months. ‘‘At this stage we are unable to provide a date as we are working with multiple stakeholders on different parts of the project.” nick.brook@alliedmedia.co.nz
