Decades worth of roadworks on the books in Ashburton

There is 72km of road that is in need of rehabilitation in the Ashburton District, and the Council is currently able to do 8km per year with the funding available. Photo / Supplied

There are an estimated 72 kilometres of sealed roads which are in dire need of rehabilitation in the Ashburton District, and with the funding available, the Ashburton District Council is currently able to restore only 8km per year.

Experts say it will take nine years to repair the district's roads at the current rate of funded work.

"[We don't have the] money or probably the resources to do that much in one year," roading manager Mark Chamberlain said.

"By the time we get that 70 kilometres done, there will no doubt be other sections that need the work done.

"It's just an ongoing thing on an ageing network getting used by traffic."

For the current financial year, the council has budgeted $2,099,160 of subsidised rehabilitation work, which receives 51 per cent funding from Waka Kotahi NZTA, and that covers around 8km.

The council has an additional $1.7 million, reallocated from the forestry reserve, for unsubsidised road rehabilitation, which is a small dent, covering around 6km, but is being used to address the worst areas.

That gives the council a total of $3,799,160 for sealed road rehabilitation in 2022/23.

Chamberlain said there is 37km of rehabilitation work programmed in the next three years, and another 23kms after that, so the additional $1.7m of funding is "a bit of a catch-up but we still have a lot of work to do".

Chamberlain said the decision on what sections to do first has been made based on "the engineer's assessment of the network".

"Rehabs are the best solution to fixing our roads that have got problems at the end of their life and they create a long-term solution."

The council approved the allocation of the $1.7m, but one councillor was not happy. Councillor Stuart Wilson again railed against money being poured into "that blasted Arundel Rakaia Gorge Road which is the bane of my life".

He believed the $1.7m was supposed to be spread around the district, not "up into that damn scenic highway".

What $1.7m of roading covers:
• Barford Road – 0.48 km - south of Hackthorne Road
• Barford Road – 0.40 km - between Oakleys Road and Orchards Road
• Forks Road – 1.20 km - south of Earlys Road
• Mayfield Valetta Road – 1.30 km - between McKenzies Road and Wallaces Road
• Thompsons Track – 3.02 km – north of Line Road