Auckland's roading woes: Botched resealing job in Remuera street 'like driving on a country road'

Residents in one of Remuera's poshest streets are victims of a botched resealing job, resulting in contractors having to swing by weekly to sweep up piles of loose stone chips.

Auckland Transport concedes the resealing failure is not limited to Arney Rd in Remuera - quality issues with new chip sealing have been found at three other roads under a maintenance contract this year.

At Arney Rd - where homes sell for up to $16 million - the resealing work has resulted in chip stripping from the surface down to the previous seal.

A resealing job on Arney Rd in Remuera has resulted in chip stripping from the surface down to the previous seal and piling up down the middle and side of the road. Photo / Supplied

Remuera real estate agent Steve Koerber said he drives along Arney Rd most days.

Since the road was resealed, he said, cars are pushing the chip to the side of the road and exposing the original tarmac.

"It feels like driving along a country or unsealed road with a lot of noise from the chip coming up on the car," Koerber said.

Steve Koerber says driving on Arney Rd is like driving on a country road. Photo / Brett Phibbs

One saving grace, he said, is that speed bumps at the top of Arney Rd slow cars down in the affected area.

AT has told Ōrākei councillor Desley Simpson of some "major seal failures" in her ward.

In emails between council and AT staff with Simpson, she has been told investigations are continuing with the contractors to find a fix.

Ōrākei councillor Desley Simpson. Photo / Desley Simpson

In the interim, Simpson learned AT has done a letter drop explaining the situation to residents and to let them know when the road is being swept.

"We chip seal kilometres of roads all over the city and seldom have a problem," an AT manager told Simpson.

Simpson told the Herald that surely resealing a residential road is one of the most basic jobs Auckland Transport can possibly do.

Damage to Arney Rd after a resealing project failed, stripping chips are stripping from the surface. Photo / Brett Phibbs

"It just astounds me that they could have a failure this bad and put in writing to the residents that they don't know how they got it wrong," she said.

An AT spokeswoman said between January 13 and March 29 this year, 11.6km of chip seal was resurfaced on 32 roads in the Ōrākei and Maungakiekie-Tāmaki wards under a maintenance contract.

She said Arney Rd was resurfaced with two coat 4/6 grade chip seal on March 3, replacing the same two-coat grade chip seal completed in December 2011.

AT has identified quality issues with the new chip sealing on Aldred Rd, Arney Rd, Arthur St and Rawhiti Rd, the spokeswoman said.

Damage to the road after resealing roadworks on Arney Rd in Remuera. Photo / Brett Phibbs

"The chip seal has experienced failures, resulting in the chip seal striping off and exposing the previous seal. The failures at each site occurred during the same time period. These failures were sudden, with rapid deterioration," the spokeswoman said.

She said AT is investigating the cause of the failure, potential solutions and was committed to resolving the issues.

"Understanding the cause of the failures is essential so we can make sure remedial action is final - without causing further problems at a later date.,"

She said October was the earliest they can do the work because warm and dry conditions are needed.

In the meantime, AT will continue to monitor the sites and do regular sweeping, the spokeswoman said.

Auckland Mayoral Candidate Efeso Coillins. Photo / Greg Bowker

In the last financial year, AT spent $21.8m resealing roads, including 268km of chip seal.

Asphalt resurfacing is four times more expensive than chip seal and roads with existing chip seal would require substantial and costly rehabilitation of the road foundation for asphalt to work, the spokeswoman said.

Auckland mayoral candidate Efeso Collins, who has indicated he will reallocate road funding to help pay for his flagship policy of free public transport, said he did not expect to cut funding to the resealing programme.

"I intend community expectations for planned roading projects to be met and for health and safety upgrades to be prioritised. However, I'm also aware that all future funding decisions are subject to advice from council experts, the Government and in particular Waka Kotahi."