Pothole plague: Crane company director hits out at state of New Zealand roads

The managing director of a crane company has taken a crack at the nation’s roads, saying they are “the worst I’ve seen them” in nearly 20 years of running the business.

It comes as the chief executive of a problem-solving app that allows users to send problems to be solved by local authorities says there has been “huge growth” in potholes reported.

But Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency says it is “not possible” to maintain the entire 11,000 kilometres of state highways in “a defect-free condition at all times”, and contractors have “dedicated crews patrolling for potholes” that were resolved proactively.

Last month, it was revealed more than 211,000 potholes had been reported on New Zealand state highways over the past five years.

McLeod Cranes managing director Scott McLeod told the Bay of Plenty Times he believed the poor state of the roads was a health and safety problem.

McLeod said he would have thought that the moment Waka Kotahi identified a pothole it needed to “take all reasonably practical steps” to correctly address that under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

In his view: “It seems potholes just get bigger and bigger. It’s almost like [Waka Kotahi] is immune from the act.”

He had recently returned from a trip from Tauranga down to Gisborne, then Napier and Hastings and back up to Tauranga, saying potholes were “everywhere”.

“I realise they’ve had a cyclone through [Hawke’s Bay] but that road maintenance is really lacking at the moment,” McLeod said.

“I’ve been running the McLeod group for 18 years now and the roads are the worst I’ve seen them.”

McLeod Cranes and Hiabs managing director Scott McLeod.

Waka Kotahi Waikato system manager Cara Lauder said the organisation was not immune from health and safety laws but it was “not relevant in relation to the quality of the state highway network”.

Waka Kotahi and its contractors were bound under the Health and Safety at Work Act to provide a safe workplace for road workers undertaking repairs to potholes and other defects.

Other relevant legislation included the Accident Compensation Act 2001 for managing personal injuries, including those that take place while driving.

Lauder said during the winter maintenance period from May to September, contractors had “dedicated crews patrolling for potholes” that were resolved proactively.

“The continued wet weather is proving to be a recipe for pothole formation in various areas across Aotearoa,” Lauder said.

“While the weather has kept maintenance crews busy dealing with surface flooding, slips, fallen trees, debris and road closures, repairing potholes has continued to be a priority.

“As soon as they are advised of each issue, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency maintenance contractors are dispatched to carry out repairs.”

Bay of Plenty state highway potholes

Lauder said by their nature, roads deteriorated over time and it was “not possible” to maintain the entire 11,000km of state highways in “a defect-free condition at all times”.

Motorists were encouraged to report the damage they saw by calling 0800 4 HIGHWAYS, and to have vehicle insurance cover.

In 2022, Waka Kotahi received almost 800 compensation claims - a jump of nearly 90 per cent from the year prior.

Last year, it repaired 54,196 potholes.

Snap Send Solve is a problem-solving app aimed at simplifying the reporting of community issues across New Zealand and Australia.

It was designed to make reporting issues in the community such as graffiti, illegal parking, dumped rubbish, trip hazards or abandoned trolleys easier.

In the past year, it has received over 3000 pothole-related reports in New Zealand.

Snap Send Solve chief executive and founder Danny Gorog told the Bay of Plenty Times users can report potholes directly to someone at the local council or road authority - called solvers - throughout New Zealand in under 30 seconds.

Senders also get updates from the solvers about the progress of the solution.

“We’ve seen huge growth around pothole reporting in the, in the last this half of the year anyway,” Gorog said.

“I think a lot of people in the community have the problem and they see things that are wrong and they have no idea how to get [them] fixed.

“We’re operating at a pretty significant scale, around 1.2 or so million reports this calendar year across Australia and New Zealand - we’re having a really serious impact in the community.”

Luke Kirkness is an assistant news director for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post covering general news. He previously worked at the NZ Herald for three years, mainly as a consumer affairs reporter. He won Student Journalist of the Year in 2019 at the Voyager Media Awards.