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Frustrated drivers fed up with recent failed attempts to reseal and repair sections of Matakana Road will continue to experience either delays or dodgy surfaces until well into March, according to Auckland Transport’s (AT) maintenance schedule.
Locals and visitors have had to dodge dips and potholes over the holiday period, following the lifting of several sections of new seal during traffic queues in hot weather. Some drivers had large chunks of gravel-bitumen mix pull out and stick to their tyres, and lines of holes in the seal have since made driving tricky, particularly on the straight, past Matakana Estate.
Following a number of emails and complaints, Rodney Local Board chair Beth Houlbrooke asked AT for a detailed explanation and was told that remediation works and further resealing would be taking place from now until mid-March. As in December, when the first resealing work was done, westbound traffic will again be diverted between Sharp and Sandspit Roads during the repairs.
Following extensive social media criticism of the quality of work done and calls for new contractors to be appointed, Mahurangi Matters asked AT to outline how road maintenance contracts were awarded, how the process worked, and if is there was a penalty system if repair work was not up to scratch.
Media relations manager Mark Hannan said only that there had been a number of works taking place over recent months on Matakana Road that were necessary to maintain the road surface.
“The recent hot weather means some road surface temperatures have been around 60C, which has resulted in some melting,” he said. “Auckland Transport is working with the contractor and the remediation work will be done at no cost to the ratepayer.”
Repair schedule:
Clayden Road to Anderson Road – Repairs to “bleeding” on the hill section, near Golf Road, planned for February 18 and 19, with a one-way system in place and westbound traffic going via Sharp and Sandspit Roads.
Anderson Road to Sharp Road – “surface failures” are being repaired at Downer’s cost. Potholes were due to be repaired with hotmix between February 5 and 8. A full width reseal is programmed for February 18 and 19, again with a one-way system in place.
Sharp Road to Tamahunga Road – Repairs are nearly complete and are programmed to be finished by February 15. Reseal is due to take place on March 11 and 12, when delays can be expected, as there is no alternative route on this section.
