Wairarapa councils have confirmed that a recent repair programme has provided a boost to the region’s backroads.
Spokespeople for all three councils said the work followed widespread damage to infrastructure after two severe weather events and a wetter-than-average summer.
The programme included stabilising a major slip last year outside Martinborough, repairs to more than 27 potholes, and resealing many kilometres of secondary roads.
The slip on Martin’s Hill, a few kilometres north of Martinborough, had been mostly unsealed during January and February after earlier stabilisation work. In mid-February, a crash at the site involved a car with one occupant leaving the road and upending in the adjacent ditch.
Stefan Corbett, group manager partnerships and operations at South Wairarapa District Council [SWDC], said the two recent cyclones caused significant disruption.
“Cyclones Hale and Gabrielle left much damage across the network, and the clean-up that followed has been swift and thorough, which has meant most roads are currently in a good state,” he said of the SWDC roads.
“In the February program, we fixed 27 potholes in our network and inspected 186 km of sealed roads. All the bridges were also inspected.”
Corbett said that during January and February, a total of 26km of the district’s roads had been resealed, including the slip on Ponatahi Road.
“The slip on Ponatahi Rd, a little after John’s Way, was also stabilised and repaired just before Christmas, with adjacent areas maintained.”
Corbett also said that SWDC contractors regularly monitor the roads and carry out repairs as needed.
“These road repairs have been part of an agreed programme our contractors Fulton Hogan and Ruamahanga Roads manage across the South Wairarapa and Carterton District Councils’ road network.”
Ruamahanga Roads has an ongoing roading programme designed to deliver maintenance work and services across SWDC and Carterton District Council’s [CDC] network.
A spokesperson for CDC said routine maintenance on Carterton’s roads was part of a programme that included regular repairs, vegetation control, and filling potholes.
“We’ve also continued with our renewals programme, which included resealing on Carters Line in February,” they said.
A large pothole on the road near Parkvale had recently been fixed.
A spokesperson for Masterton District Council confirmed significant work had recently been undertaken in the district on roading. Much of the roading work in the past two months also related to cyclone and storm damage.
