"The subject was discussed at length at last Wednesday's regional transport committee meeting and we were given assurances work would be under way soon."
Neil says one of the reasons given for the poor condition of the road currently was postponement of work originally scheduled for March and April this year.
"We were told Covid-19 meant work had been put on pause temporarily meaning the maintenance schedule fell well behind. I would point out though, as a district council we had the same problem with Covid-19 when it came to the scheduled work to be undertaken on the district's roads, but we have still managed to get the work done."
NZTA Taranaki system manager Ross I'Anson says the normal maintenance programme has been increased to deal with the lost time caused by Covid-19.
"In Taranaki repairs need to be undertaken during March and April when the weather is warmer and drier but due to the Covid-19 lockdown, much of the work scheduled for earlier in the year was unable to be completed.
"This season we are undertaking a much larger maintenance programme to compensate for this lost time and to address the issues on the network. Approximately $6.8 million will be spent this 2020/2021 maintenance season to maintain and improve Taranaki state highways."
He says NZTA is aware of the issues with potholes on Broadway in Stratford.
"We are aware of the issues on this section of highway and have been doing temporary repairs on the potholes. We will be resurfacing the main street this summer construction season."
Neil says he is pleased there is a plan to resurface the road.
"The temporary fixes NZTA has been doing just aren't good enough. They don't last and don't solve the problem. Sometimes it only takes 24 hours before the same pothole reappears."
Ross says temporary fixes are undertaken in the name of safety.
"Repairing potholes, even temporarily, helps ensure the safety of road users."
Taranaki's roads suffer from some specific geological and meteorological issues, says Ross.
"Taranaki's volcanic ground conditions, coupled with significant groundwater and rainfall, mean the road surface isn't as resilient as in other regions."
Neil says while this may be the case, Taranaki still seems to be worse off than other areas with similar ground conditions and geology such as the Nelson Tasman region.
"A chart presented to us at the regional Transport Committee meeting compared the roughness of our roads to other regions, and Taranaki was certainly worse than Nelson Tasman, and much worse than the national average. Regardless of where we are in New Zealand, we need decent, well maintained roads to ensure people can travel safely."
While Neil and NZTA might disagree on a few things when it comes to acceptable response times and standards of roads, they do agree on one thing.
"Call the 0800 number to report potholes and other road issues on the State Highway as this helps give weight to our grievance," says Neil.
Ross says calling the 0800 number is the best way for people to report issues on the highway.
"People should call 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49) to report potholes."
