Drivers in Northland are being urged to be patient as a number of roading projects are carried out over the summer months.
The NZ Transport Agency is in the process of spending the Government’s $4 billion pothole repair and prevention fund — with $150 million of it going to Northland.
In the past few months thousands of potholes have been repaired in the region — the vast majority within NZTA’s 24-hour target.
Far North Roading based in Kaitaia has been tasked with a handful of repair jobs in the north and said they’ll be hiring more staff to help with the workload.
They’re currently working to improve the drainage and reseal the road at State Highway 14 in Ōkaihau.
“It’s come up for renewal because of its lifecycle, the new surface will provide a better waterproofing layer over the pavement — water damages pavement and creates potholes,” project manager Connor Dent said.
“The ability to renew the pavement before it fails means the cost to renew is less and the time we spend to repair it is less.”
NZTA said motorists can expect to see an increase in the number of roadworks that they saw last year but they will be taking a few days’ break over the Christmas period.
“You may come through one site and straight into our site next. Unfortunately, that’s the nature of trying to get our roads into a better condition,” Dent said.
One worker had a plea for drivers.
“Just be patient, polite, give us a beep and wave.”
Road management business owner Ken Subritzky said he’d noticed a surge of confidence since the announcement of road repair funding and had picked up contracts from firms from Auckland.
“We hope that will continue into the new year,” he said.
Last year, 145 motorists made claims for bad roads damaging their vehicles — NZTA paid out $2800 on five of them.
The AA’s road safety spokesperson Dylan Thomsen said members have reported the quality of roads as having worsened.
“We’ve seen a growing number of drivers over recent years hitting potholes at higher speeds and that can cause major damage to their tyres, their suspension,” Thomsen said.
“Sometimes it can cause the vehicle to lose control and to go off the road and into something else, so we’ve seen a growing number of people having vehicle damage.”
