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Auckland Transport (AT) is investigating five methods to help reduce dust on unsealed roads.
The trials will take place in five 300m sections on Old Woodcocks Road in September in a deal between AT and Downer NZ.
The trial includes three alternative road sealing techniques, including two kinds of chip seal and Otta Seal, and a chemical dust suppressant.
Otta Seal has been widely used and is a cheaper alternative to road sealing for low-volume roads.
It creates a surface which stops dust and reduces potholes and corrugations, but uses much cheaper materials and involves very little preparation, engineering or safety improvements. The roads are still classed as being unsealed as they haven’t been engineered for the kind of speeds of a sealed road, but is about 90 per cent cheaper than traditional sealing. However, the lifespan of the road is significantly lower than traditional roads.
AT had previously been skeptical about Otta Seal. When Mahurangi Matters looked at the method as part of investigations into unsealed roads last year, AT said it had no plans for a trial.
AT would not go into any detail about the other dust mitigation methods until the Rodney Local Board had been briefed on the project in about a month.
