Updated 21.04.2015 10.20pm
Work associated with laying a new footpath in Puriri Street, Raglan caused a telecommunications cable to fail on Wednesday 15th. The cable was in poor condition and was susceptible to vibration damage. This cut off interweb and phone services to residents of Puriri and Cliff Streets. Telecoms company Chorus said it was a bad joint and vibrations had caused the fault. As no quick fix was available the services were off last week and over the weekend. We spotted a Chorus cable jointer at work on Monday so hopefully service will be restored soon.
Waikato District Council advises that:
- This particular stretch of footpath (85 metres long) is part of the district-wide footpath contract and was included due to requests from the community to the 2014/15 Annual Plan. Dependant weather, the contract is scheduled for completion in the next fortnight.
- It will run between Wallis and Cliff Streets but won’t continue around the corner into Cliff Street.
- The cost of the Puriri Street project is $27,441.25 and will be completed by Civil Construction Services.
- In regards to the cables, the contractor has advised us the cables weren’t cut but due to poor condition were damaged by vibration. They have now been repaired.
While some Raglanders claim the footpath is another example of an end of year spend up by Waikato District Council, others are glad to see any extension to the limited footpaths we have in town.
The Council has another new footpath project underway in Simon Road, where contractor Civil Construction Services is extending the footpath up the hill to Lorenzen Bay Road.
With last year’s Community Board poll of Raglan residents identifying footpaths as a top priority its good to see WDC laying some new footpaths.
Has Council stopped consulting residents about changes to their street? At one time Council held street meetings when they were planning changes, but people on Puriri St and Norrie Ave tell me the first they knew of recent changes was when the contractors turned up.
If the cable break on Puriri St was caused by vibration, why should it have cut the phones at about 9pm, when no work was being done on the footpath?
From what I’ve been told, the telecommunication cable around from Cliff St was an old paper insulated lead sheathed cable. With this type of cable the sheath could be cracked by vibrations if it was in very poor condition. Then moisture would slowly enter the cable and break down the paper insulation.