More road sealing unlikely

A partially sealed road.

It looks unlikely any of South Wairarapa's gravel roads will be sealed in the short term as funding is getting harder to come by.

However, the unsealed roads have been ranked by priority in a report by South Wairarapa District Council officers to help councillors decide if a road will get any funding in its next annual plan.

The first road on the list, which is still in draft form, would be considered for funding.

"It is a background report for the annual plan so they [councillors] can consider applications for seal extensions," said Paul Crimp, CEO of South Wairarapa District Council.

The top five roads on the list, unsealed or partially unsealed, are Underhill Rd, Cross Creek Rd, Tora Rd and Cape Palliser Rd, and Whangaimoana Rd.

The data will be useful for backing up residents complaints about unsealed roads and whether they actually need to be resealed, said Mark Allingham, council's group manager infrastructure services.

"We are trying to take a more logical approach rather than a knee-jerk reaction."

The order of the list is determined by how many vehicles use the road, seasonal use, heavy vehicle use, its strategic position, access to community services and dust nuisance.

Mr Allingham said not all the data was completely accurate, for instance, Whangamaiona Rd was an anomaly as it is a short road "in the middle of nowhere".

"You still need to check the roads," he said.

Mr Crimp said NZTA had set the bar high to obtain funding for sealed roads.

"Unless it attracts a subsidy it's unlikely it will get approved."

NZTA had removed the seal extension subsidy indefinitely on the basis that sealed roads cost more to maintain.

Previously the council had sealed parts of its roads every year.

Earlier this year, vineyard owners on Te Muna Rd made submissions during the council's consulting of the previous annual plan asking for the road to be sealed but there was no money for it.

Craggy Range Vineyard manager Daniel Watson and Whaiawa Vineyard's Catherine Mitchell complained the road was in a poor state and increased traffic meant constant potholes created hazards and the dust caused a nuisance to workers at the vineyards.

But it doesn't look like Te Muna Rd will be sealed any time soon as it is far down the list.

Currently it costs council $1.2 million a year for maintenance and renewal of its sealed roads and it can cost over $100,000 per kilometre to seal a typical 4.5 metre wide unsealed road.

Sealing could be totally funded by council but it would have a big impact on ratepayers, said the report.

It said, in broad terms, a kilometre of road sealed above the current budget would be 1 per cent increase in rates per year.

It would also have a compounding maintenance increase of .016 per cent a year.