Traffic

With State Highway one no longer usable due to the Kaikoura earthquake, all traffic from the top of the South Island is required to come through our little town.  Normally we would have 1500 vehicles travel our road daily.  Since the earthquake that figure has increased to 6000 daily.  And the increase in trucks has been amazing.  I travelled down the road in this photo this evening, and parked up for the night were 9 trucks.  There were another 4 parked down another road.  You can tell when the Picton Ferry has unloaded, as the traffic increases significantly .  In addition to the extra traffic, the roads are taking a hiding, and will only get worse when the heat arrives over summer and the tarseal melts.  We have two extra policemen stationed in Murchison to deal with the extra traffic which is fantastic.

It's great seeing all these extra people go through our town, however it does have a few major side effects.  Our school is on the state highway.  We have to be extra vigilant with the children crossing the road before and after school; the pubs and cafes are run of their feet and are having to advertise for more staff from out of Murchison; accommodation is at a premium, and we can't find a car park in town!  And they reckon it is going to take approximately 2 years before the East Coast state highway is going to be up and running again.  

However even with all the extra traffic that the earthquake has created on our side of the country, we must spare a thought for the poor people in the East Coast of the South Island that have been affected by the earthquakes.  They have had no water, power or sewage for many days since the quakes.  Fuel has been running low, and farmers have been unable get stock out. The NZ Defence Force has done a fantastic job bringing in supplies - and getting tourists out.

Lets hope that the earth now stops shaking and people can try and get on with their lives.