Relief is in sight for people living on one of Northland's dustiest logging routes.
The dust from a logging truck forces a van to pull to the side of the road. Photo: RNZ / Lois Williams
The Whangarei council has secured funding to seal parts of Wrights Road and McCardle Road west of the city.
Residents have been protesting for several years about the dust clouds created by the high number of log-trucks that use the gravel roads daily.
The Transport Agency has just approved funding of $2.5 million to fix the problem.
Whangarei's mayor Sheryl Mai said her council was the first to apply for funding under the agency's new dust-hazard criteria, and she was thrilled with the result.
Ms Mai said the roads will initially be sealed where they pass occupied houses, but the council intends to apply for more funding for the rest of road, and other problematic roads in the district.
Northlanders protesting logging trucks and dusty roads perform a thunderous haka in foyer of the Whangarei council chambers in 2014. Photo: RNZ / Lois Williams