Sign In / Register
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown visited the Downer Rodney depot this month to get a first-hand update on Auckland Transport’s north rural road maintenance contract.
The contract covers general road maintenance, as well as road repairs from last year’s extreme weather events.
There were 326 major and minor slips in the north rural area.
Of these, 292 slips have been repaired and 11 are currently being worked on, as of the end of last month. This is over and above the thousands of emergency storm recovery jobs attended.
Some repairs have been more significant and complex than others.
The Mayor was told that Ahuroa Road was severely damaged during the storm events and closed at the top of Ahuroa Hill by J Tolhopf Road, effectively splitting the Ahuroa community in half.
Eight under-slips were identified, and major geotechnical investigations were done to inform the rebuild.
Four of eight underslip repairs have now been completed.
The main slip at the top of the road is largely complete and work is continuing in parallel at several sites further down the road under Stop/Go management. The large slip that closed the road near 900 Ahuroa Road is largely complete, and access reopened to residents on May 8.
“This complex repair involved installing 150 piles, some up to 17 metres deep,” a Downer’s spokesperson said. “There are still some minor works such as barrier installations to be completed on this slip at a later date, but this will only require a lane closure and Stop/Go.”
Road maintenance
Brown was told that the team has improved the way the unsealed network is maintained – to minimise potholes, reduce cost to ratepayers and provide a better unsealed network.
On a site visit, the Mayor, accompanied by Rodney Councillor Greg Sayers, was able to see work being done on roadside drainage, reusing fine materials to stabilise and compact, and achieving the all-important ‘crown’ of the road to ensure drainage and reduce the risk of potholes.
“More than 70kms of the unsealed network in Rodney have now benefited from the improved maintenance strategy and feedback from residents has been positive,” the Downers’ spokesperson said.
Cr Sayers said that he used to receive a lot of calls from ratepayers concerned about the condition of the unsealed network, but now received far less.
The roading team is also exploring and trialling the use of different stabilisation agents in an effort to increase the strength and binding of existing pavement materials, deliver better value for ratepayers, and reduce the use of virgin materials and grading frequency.
As part of unsealed roads strategy, Downer has trained six new grader drivers and has focused on technique.
“Downer’s workforce is largely local, so they are keen to deliver for their community.”
