Pothole pledge endorsed by National Road Carriers

Ken from Helensville won the Pothole of the Year competition for this photo last year.

The Coromandel relies heavily on the importation of goods to service the peninsula, and the distressed state of the region’s roading network has meant disruptions to the supply chain.

Extreme weather events have altered the roading network significantly and excessive rainfall has left roads pockmarked with potholes, causing delays and distress for motorists left with blown tyres.

More than 211,000 potholes have been reported on New Zealand state highways over the past five years - with a quarter of them being in 2022.

The Bay of Plenty Times requested the number of potholes repaired by Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency but that was not recorded. The data instead showed the number of potholes attended to, and more than a fifth of the 211,747 potholes repaired between 2018 and 2022 were in the Waikato region.

This week, the National Party, as part of its just-released Transport Policy, pledged to pour $500 million over three years into a Pothole Repair Fund to address what it calls the “shocking state of our local roads and state highways”.

National said it will find the money by slashing road safety initiatives, including blanket speed limit reductions, “excessive speed bump installations” and the Road to Zero campaign.

The announcement follows a nationwide campaign from the National Party to highlight the state of the roading network, with the party encouraging people to send in photos of potholes.

National’s transport spokesperson Simeon Brown, who unveiled the policy in Auckland alongside leader Christopher Luxon, said there would also be a new directive for Waka Kotahi to double the current rate of roading renewals and make “fixing the roads” the number-one priority.

The Government hit back, saying National created the current problems after it froze maintenance funding when it was in office, with Transport Minister David Parker adding National needed to explain how they would fill the “giant pothole they’re creating in the transport budget”.

The pledge has won favour with the trucking industry body National Road Carriers Association (NRC), which said in a press release it had given the policy the ‘thumbs up.’

“Potholes are a continual hazard for road freight deliveries as well as the general public – we’ve seen record numbers of them, and a clear priority to address them is well overdue,” said NRC CEO Justin Tighe-Umbers.

National Road Carriers chief executive Justin Tighe-Umbers. Photo / Andrew Warner

Tighe-Umbers said Waka Kotahi has been stretched and asked to complete everything from modal shift to public transport, rail, emissions reduction and Road to Zero, without the extra budget or people necessary.

“As a result, the focus on getting the basics right – road maintenance – has clearly slipped. The National Party’s policy gives clear direction to NZTA to focus on the table stakes essential for drivable roads.

“It is critical that we not only keep up with the 2 per cent run rate needed each year to replace the roading asset, but that we actually do more to recover the decades we’ve been falling behind.”

Additional reporting Luke Kirkness and Michael Neilson.