Rangitata MP James Meager is “not happy” with the state of the highways in Mid Canterbury.
Meager was frustrated with the highway in Tinwald and at the Ealing turnoff to the Rangitata Bridge.
He went to the NZ Transport Agency for answers on what was happening with the two particularly bad patches of SH1.
He reported that NZTA responded that there would be repair works in Tinwald before Christmas, while at Ealing, it was working through a repair process with the contractor.
NZTA central South Island system manager Mark Pinne confirmed the works at Ealing were “re-work”.
“Workmanship, timing and design considerations will be all part of the issues that we will be working through to determine the best outcome.”
At Tinwald the repairs are not part of the recent Tinwald corridor upgrade.
“These repairs are programmed maintenance to the highway network.”
Meager urged the community to utilise the pothole hotline (0800 44 44 49).
The hotline was introduced by the Government in July, with Minister of Transport Simeon Brown setting targets to fix almost all potholes within 24 hours of identification.
Figures supplied by NZTA show that from October 4 to November 1, 196 potholes were identified in the Mid-South Canterbury region.
Of those only five were repaired outside the 24-hour window.
In the New Year, NZTA will start its resurfacing programme on sections of SH1 between Rakaia and Timaru.
There is also a major piece of roadworks due to take place in Ashburton in March.
Asphaltic concrete surfacing is also planned for some Ashburton township areas as well as re-surfacing the Hinds and Rangitata River Bridge decks.
It will involve upgrading the structural asphalt on SH1 between the Ashburton Bridge and Dobson St and resurfacing from Dobson to Moore Streets.
By Jonathan Leask
