Maungatautari Road trees poisoned

Trees on Maungatautari Road to be removed.

Fifteen large, poisoned trees, and a group of smaller weed-type trees, are being removed on Karāpiro’s Maungatautari Road.

The removal of the exotic trees near the Brooklyn Water Ski Club starts Monday and will take two weeks. During the work, stop-and-go traffic management will be in place for roughly half a kilometre and people can expect delays of up to 15 minutes at a time.

Waipā District Council’s community services manager Brad Ward said the contractor discovered the trees had been poisoned during Cyclone Gabrielle.

“A tree had come down due to the storm and the team noticed the nearby trees were poisoned. It is frustrating when vandalism like this happens and we lose trees that are providing multiple benefits for our community.”

The poisoned trees were dying and need to be removed before they became a safety hazard.

“We acknowledge the wait will add to people’s commutes, but it is to ensure everyone’s safety while we fell the large trees,” Ward said.

The contractor will work Monday to Friday and no works or traffic management will be in place on the weekend.

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