Viewing road workers as people - not road cones – will help make roadwork sites safer for everyone.

That’s the safety message being highlighted this summer as Hamilton’s road-resealing season shifts into high gear.

On average, 10 road workers or road users are killed nationwide each year at temporary traffic management sites, figures from NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi reveal. A further 60 road workers or road users are seriously injured.

“As a city, we don’t want to contribute to those tragic statistics,” Hamilton City Council’s Operate and Maintain Unit Director, Tania Hermann, said.

“We want to keep everyone safe on our roads, including at our roadwork sites.”

Across the city, road crews are making the most of the warm weather and longer days to reseal 28km of roads and rebuild six roads.

While roadworks can disrupt traffic and add time to people’s journeys, the work is vital to keeping our roads safe.

It’s really important road users take extra care around roadworks and follow instructions from road crews, Hermann said.

“Speed restrictions help keep everyone safe, especially road workers. Our crews are passionate about the work they do and, like everyone else, they want to go home to their families at the end of the day.”

Council this week released an online video promoting safe driver behaviour around roadwork sites.

The video features Ailee Brown, a site traffic management supervisor, who talks about her passion for her work.

“What I love about my job is that every day is different. I like the fulfillment that I get when my site is compliant, and I know that the workers are going to be safe,” Brown said.

“I like working outside all day, get to see sunsets and sunrises, and I like to build personal connections with my crew as well as members of the public. And our work is really important because we are making sure we have safe roads to drive on that can benefit everyone.”

Road repairs and maintenance are carried out by Connect Hamilton, a partnership between Council and Downer NZ. The 2024/25 construction season programme is budgeted to cost about $15 million, with 51% funded by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.

Connect Hamilton continues to make good progress with its road resealing programme, having completed 14km of roads already.

To help commuters and residents keep up-to-date with roadworks around the city, Council publishes a weekly report on its website called Week on our streets. The report details roadworks under way or coming up as well as lane or road closures.

© Scoop Media