Northern Wairarapa projects have included a major double project along Mangaroa Rd, near Eketahuna, costing almost $200,000.
A bridge that had "come to the end of its life" was being replaced with two massive culverts.
The work was being combined with a safety improvement involving a realignment of the road, Mr Edsall said.
Downer had "basically started a whole new operational team here in Tararua", he added. It involved employing staff and buying almost $5 million worth of plant and equipment.
The Tararua Alliance contract is responsible for delivering road and stormwater maintenance. It manages assets including 1175km of sealed and 782km of unsealed roading network, 398 bridges, and 9106 road signs.
Mr Edsall said 90 per cent of staff are locals. They include some who worked for the previous council-owned contractor, Infracon, which went into liquidation last year.
"Our end goal here is to create that centre of excellence for Tararua, and be known as a leader in road maintenance and network management," Mr Edsall said.
Peter Wimsett, Tararua District Council manager of strategy and district development, said the profit component was fixed, which resulted in a better focus on the work most needed.
"We've been able to do things for the long term," he added.
Mr Wimsett said there was an element of openness rather than "the classic master and servant approach".
Council staff and Downer were working side by side, and crews were taking more ownership of road quality.
New equipment brought to the region includes a laser-guided grader which effectively "rips up the surface in front of it and re-layers it, taking out the corrugations".
Mr Wimsett said the new Tararua Alliance base would be at Oringi, next to Scanpower, which is convenient because of the electricity company's "need to dig up footpaths".
