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1News
an hour ago
- Automotive
- 1News
'Shook to pieces': Truckers say eastern BoP bridge worse than third world
Eastern Bay of Plenty transportation operators are 'ropable' about the surface of the Pekatahi Bridge. The 100-year-old, single-lane bridge is on the main State Highway 2 route between the Port of Tauranga and the East Coast and Gisborne. Warren Sherborne who operates WozHiab says the condition of the bridge has become 'critical' despite frequent closures for works. 'They keep on shutting this bridge down but make no improvement,' he said. Sherborne frequently transports portable buildings to Ōpōtiki and the East Coast. ADVERTISEMENT 'It's like sending your little transportable home through an earthquake. It's just ridiculous." Sherborne said some of his loads are "quite fragile". "The bridge is rattling the absolute living crap out of them. We're idling across the bridge in the lowest gear, taking up many phases [of the traffic lights] because we're trying to look after our loads." Having operated the business for five and a half years, he said he had never seen the bridge in a worse state than it is now. 'At the moment this is just insane. Their latest bridge shuts [during April] have been pointless. The boards are indented now." He expressed fears for the safety of their loads. 'What if one of our loads was dislodged and came off after that bridge in transit and hurt someone?' ADVERTISEMENT Sherborne also feared for the effect heavy vehicles vibrating across bumps on the bridge would have on the foundations, likening it to a 40-tonne plate compactor going across the bridge. He said he was reporting the issue to the road transport forum Ia Ara Aotearoa – Transporting New Zealand, of which he is a member. A heavy vehicle bumping its way across the Pekatahi Bridge surface on Wednesday. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting) Robert Monk, from Robert Monk Transport, said they're carting as many as 30 loads a day of export kiwifruit from the Eastern Bay to the Tauranga port. He said the bridge deck had gone 'beyond a joke'. 'We're getting shook to pieces on that bridge even though the guys are going slow." Monk had just pulled a stainless steel screw out of one of his truck's tyres yesterday which he said was just the most recent of many. ADVERTISEMENT Recently, he had to pay $1200 for a call out when one of his trucks had a flat tyre from one of the screws. 'I'm only a little company but I pay in excess of $1.5 million a year in road users tax. It's unacceptable. 'I'm just ropable. It's costing us a lot of money, and a lot of other transport operators. It is a disgrace,' he said. 'The roads I travel on, when in the Philippines, are far superior to this, and the Philippines is a so-called third world country. What does that say about New Zealand?" New Zealand Transport Agency has said Pekatahi Bridge is not on its End of Life Bridge Register for replacement because the timber and steel sub-structure was in good condition. Design work was underway for a full deck replacement. However, construction was subject to funding and the existing 2024-27 National Land Transport Plan budget was currently oversubscribed. Bridge replacements were prioritised according to the age and condition of the bridge and suitability for current traffic volumes. Pekatahi Bridge did not rate as highly as similar bridges across New Zealand. New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) Waka Kotahi planned to shut the bridge for further repairs during the upcoming school holidays, between June 30 and July 4. ADVERTISEMENT 'Incredibly difficult to fathom' The asphalt over wooden boards on the deck of the Pekatahi Bridge begins to deteriorate within days of undergoing repairs. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting) Dom Kalasih, chief executive of industry association Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand, told the Beacon the industry had real concerns about how works were being carried out on the bridge. "Every repair done to date lasts only a matter of days before it starts to fail again and in only a matter of weeks it's as bad as it was before and we don't think this time will be any different. Doing this several times a year looks like false economy, not to mention the additional freight costs related to the detour are in the order of $100,000 every day," Kalasih said. 'On average, it serves over 10,000 vehicles every day, of which typically nearly 1000 each day are trucks moving goods and freight. The communities are heavily reliant on this connection and for NZTA to think that just because there's a 20-minute detour available this is no longer seen as a priority is incredibly difficult to fathom. 'NZTA's new approach is not what our country needs, particularly when productivity improvements are so important to our economy's recovery.' East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick agreed the situation was 'deeply frustrating for everyone'. ADVERTISEMENT She met with NZTA to discuss the matter on Tuesday and learned there are "three areas they were working on". "Short term, these were regular maintenance each school holidays to maintain the surface. In the medium term, deck replacement. Longer term, assessing the future of the bridge alongside the necessity for a second Whakatāne crossing via the 2027 Regional and National Land Transport Plans. "I impressed upon NZTA the need to evaluate whether spending $12-$14 million on resurfacing the bridge is really the most cost-effective option when it will still leave a one-lane bridge with complicated surface requirements as the main heavy traffic and regional traffic route through the district. 'Surely it is time to re-assess a number of components: heavy traffic requirements; the combined councils' spatial and growth planning, which will see this route used more and more; the need to plan and prepare for a new roading project for Whakatāne before the traffic volumes reach a standstill; and the economic viability of the region and those of its neighbouring regions who use this route to transport export product to the Port of Tauranga and around the North Island." Kirkpatrick used Waioeka Gorge as an example. 'You only need to travel the Waioeka Gorge a few times, as I do, to realise the amount of heavy traffic travelling north from Gisborne for stock, Leaderbrand vegetables, citrus, products and services to understand the necessity of this piece of infrastructure. "I am determined to keep pushing on these issues – I want people to keep sending me stories and photos. I forward them all to NZTA and it really is making a difference." ADVERTISEMENT Local Democracy Reporting is local-body journalism is co-funded by RNZ and NZ on Air.
Global News
3 hours ago
- Global News
Surrey trucking company targeted twice in suspected extortion case
A Surrey business owner says his business was shot at early Thursday morning, about 24 hours after a previous incident. Raghbir Singh Nijjar, owner of Nijjar Trucking, which is in an industrial area in northwest Surrey, said someone shot at the building and the company cars parked in the lot. When Surrey Police Service officers arrived on the scene, they found bullet casings. No one was inured, even though staff were inside when the shooting happened, but the shooting happened just under 24 hours after vehicles were damaged at the same location. On Wednesday, June 18, at approximately 3:50 a.m., suspects used gasoline to damage vehicles but were scared off by on-site security. SPS officers arrived on scene and gathered evidence from this incident as well. Nijjar said that about a year ago, someone called his business and demanded money for the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Story continues below advertisement India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) describes the group as a criminal gang headed by Lawrence Bishnoi, whose lawyer says contests more than 40 cases accusing him of crimes such as murder and extortion. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Nijjar said they have reported everything to RCMP and Surrey police while the people have kept calling and asking for money. He said he is scared of what is going on. 'We (are) working every day,' he added. 'We (are doing) hard work. We (have been here) since '91. That's why we came over here (for) safety and (a) better future.' 2:15 Maple Ridge shooting believed tied to extortion attempts Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton with the Surrey Police Service would not confirm on Thursday that these incidents are linked to extortion. Story continues below advertisement 'Well, we'll be looking at all of the motives and all potential links, whether it's to past investigations and this current investigation, as with any investigation, we have to let the evidence dictate the course of that investigation,' he said. 'It may turn out that it is related to previous investigations or previous incidents, but we have to let the investigation take its course.' This incident comes after a home in Maple Ridge was shot at twice in what is believed to be linked to an extortion attempt and last week, the brazen murder of an Abbotsford man with no known criminal ties reignited extortion fears in B.C.'s Lower Mainland. In this case, SPS's Frontline Investigative Support Team (FLIST) has assumed conduct of both investigations. Anyone with information about this incident should contact the SPS non-emergency line at 604-599-0502 and quote file number 25-50413 (SP) or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or
Global News
3 hours ago
- Business
- Global News
United Conservative Party releases CPP survey results 21 months late
It's taken nearly two years for the province to release results from a survey that asked Albertans if they wanted an Alberta Pension Plan (APP). The survey showed 63 per cent of respondents were opposed to an APP, while only 10 per cent were in support. More recent polling from Leger in February found 55 per cent of Albertan's opposed an Alberta Pension Plan. A May 2025 poll from Janet Brown found 55 per cent of Albertans were in support of the APP if there were more details. In May, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said, 'I am seeing the results you are, I am not seeing that there is an appetite to put it to the people at the moment.' Duane Bratt, a political science professor at Mount Royal University, says the Janet Brown poll, commissioned by the government of Alberta, has interesting results with the number of people waiting for more information. Story continues below advertisement He adds people wanted answers to questions. 'Like, what is the amount that Alberta Pension Plan would start with? What would be the contribution rates? What would be the benefit rates? What would be the mobility between provinces? All of those sorts of questions haven't been answered,' said Bratt. 1:56 Alberta finance minister says he has not 'flip-flopped' on proposed pension change Bratt says the survey was not fair because it asked questions that assumed the respondent wanted an Alberta Pension Plan. 'The question itself was, would you want to leave the CPP if you had the exact same program. In the absence of any details, how do you know that that's the exact same program,' said Bratt. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy He adds the survey results are no longer accurate but the delay of the release of the results shows a lack of transparency from the provincial government. 'The bigger story is how and why the government of Alberta refused to hand over public survey data that they encouraged Albertans to fill out. They went to extreme measures to block it, because they realized it was going to embarrass them. They believed that this was a neutral process to just explore the idea of leaving the Canadian pension plan, but it wasn't,' said Bratt. Story continues below advertisement The province says they will continue to talk with Albertans on this topic and says nothing will change unless Albertans approve a new pension plan in a referendum. Bratt says by itself, majority of Albertans are against the province pulling out of CPP and creating the APP. He adds that he expects to see several referendum questions about Alberta's independence. Those might include questions on the APP, an Alberta police force, and Alberta independence. 'I think what the government is hoping for is maybe people might not want to separate, but they still want to send a message to Ottawa,' said Bratt.
Global News
4 hours ago
- General
- Global News
Conservationists demand end to gravel extracton on B.C. creek
A coalition of conservation groups is calling on the federal and provincial governments to stop gravel extraction from a creek near Mission, B.C., saying it's destroying salmon habitats. The groups say gravel mining has lowered the level of Norrish Creek and its tributaries. Retired biologist John Werring said it was the sight of dead salmon dried up in teh creekbed last December that spurred him and others to try and figure out what was going on. Werring said he noticed the water level had been intentionally lowered by gravel extraction, work completed by the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railroad to protect a bridge there. 1:56 Anger and frustration in Fraser Valley over railway dredging of creek He suspects that caused the neighboring creek to dry out and damage the Fish Habitat….and over the past six months he's been pushing government to reveal what they know about the situation. Story continues below advertisement He said he's recieved 'absolutely nothing' in the way of ansers since then. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Normally Firsheries and Oceans Canada and the provincial govenrment would be involved in any activity that could affect fish habitat and involved mining of a public resource. After months of frustration Werring and his colleagues have turned to the lawyers at Ecojustice for help. This week they sent demand letters to Victoria and Ottawa, alleging that the digging is being done without a provincial permit and goes beyond the scope of work authorized by the federal government. 2:08 Gravel removal blamed for salmon habitat damage near Mission They say that's destroying the spawning habitat of tens of thousands of salmon, and drastically altering water levels that are vital to the survival of wild chum and coho. They accuse the company of expanding its operations without provincial approval and beyond the scope of its federal permission. Story continues below advertisement 'Massive amounts of gravel have been extracted, hundreds of meters upstream and hundreds of meters downstream of the bridges that are supposed to be protected,' Werring said. Fisheries and Oceans Canada wasn't able to respond in time for this report. The provincial Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship said it had not given any permits for gravel removal on Norrish Creek, and that they have forwarded complaints to the federal agency. Werring said given that his group involves professional biologists, getting anwsers will be a daunting task for anyone else. ' If we're facing that, one has to wonder like, what about the public if they want to get involved in something like this?' he asked.
Global News
4 hours ago
- Business
- Global News
B.C. man nets $40M Lotto Max win but might keep his job anyway
A B.C. man says he hasn't decided yet if he'll quit his job, after taking home a $40 million Lotto Max jackpot. A fateful decision to stop at a convenience store to grab a can of sparkling water while out for a run in Burnaby has rendered Daniel Chau a multi-millionaire. He picked up a couple of lottery tickets while he was there, but didn't check it right away. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'To be honest, I am very forgetful, so I put the two tickets in my bag. I bought it, I think, on May 20, and it was just sitting there,' he said. 'On Monday I was in my office and trying to find a candy to cure my coughing and I opened my bag and I saw the two tickets, and I was like I need to scan them. The first ticket didn't win. The second ticket, when I scanned it, and when I saw the number, I literally dropped my phone. Story continues below advertisement 'I've never seen that many zeroes in my life.' Chau said he plans to travel and give back to his family with some of the winnings.
