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Orewa resident Craig McFayden was surprised to receive a letter from Fulton Hogan advising that his road in Waldorf Heights was scheduled for resealing.
Looking out at what he considered a perfectly good road, he called the company using the contact number provided.
“They told me it was scheduled maintenance and referred me to Auckland Council’s contact centre,” he says.
Unfortunately, his prior experience with them had not been fruitful.
“I tried contacting them about an issue with our driveway. What a waste of time. One person told me one thing, then I’d get a different answer the next day. When I tried to follow up, there were no direct contact details on the email. You just go around in circles.”
Frustrated, he was unsure what to do but knew he didn’t want to lose a smooth well-sealed road for chip seal.
“They resurfaced the road around the corner last year, and it’s still covered in loose stones. They say they’ll come back to sweep up the chips, but they don’t.
“I’m no roading engineer, so I don’t know if chip seal is better, but I do know it’s inconvenient. It damages cars, tar gets stuck underneath, and it chips the paint.”
He believes residents should have more input before resealing work begins.
“Even a simple online survey or letter drop would help. If 95 per cent of residents say the road doesn’t need it, move on to a road that does. And if people have questions, there should be a real person we can contact. Our rates are paying for this, and there needs to be more transparency.”
In response, an Auckland Transport spokesperson said resurfacing was necessary to maintain surface skid resistance and protect roads from water damage. The best time to resurface was before they showed signs of deterioration and potholes form.
“The frequency of resurfacing depends on the amount of traffic and the quality of the road pavement, but is generally 10 to 15 years on roads carrying high traffic volume and 15 to 20 years on roads carrying low traffic volumes.”
They acknowledged that some residents prefer asphalt, but said it costs four to five times more than chip seal.
“Though NZTA does help co-fund half the cost of road maintenance, roads that carry less than 10,000 vehicles a day will not receive co-funding if asphalt is used. It is more economical to use chip seal on roads with lower volumes of traffic. Over time, a chip sealed road does become smoother and more like an asphalt surface.”
