The transport industry is welcoming the Government’s latest funding announcement for pothole prevention, saying it is good news for truck drivers.
The Government announced this week that NZTA Waka Kotahi will deliver $2.07 billion for State Highway Pothole Prevention and $1.9 billion for Local Road Pothole Prevention over the next three years.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown said the investment represented a 91% increase in funding for State Highway Pothole Prevention and a 50% increase in the total funding for Local Road Pothole Prevention.
“Our Government has inherited a significant backlog of road maintenance across the network. Last year, over 62,000 potholes needed repair on State Highways around New Zealand. We are now catching up on the maintenance deficit to ensure that Kiwis and freight can get to where they need to go, quickly and safely,” he said.
“Indicative funding levels confirmed under our Government provide councils with much needed certainty as they finalise their long-term plans. It will also enable roading contractors to have a clear pipeline of work in our roading network which will allow more investment in the people and equipment needed for its maintenance.”
National Road Carriers Association CEO Justin Tighe-Umbers said addressing the pothole problem was overdue.
“Potholes are a continual hazard for road freight deliveries as well as the general public – we’ve seen record numbers of them, and a clear priority to address them is well overdue,” he said.
“Our potholed roads cause millions of dollars of damage to trucks and cause physical and mental health issues for drivers. We know of drivers who have stopped working because of the stress caused by our substandard roads,” he said.
“New Zealand has badly potholed roads because road maintenance was previously inadequately funded from pay-as-you-go road user charges levied on trucks instead of being well funded and built as core infrastructure from the outset.
“Until now we funded our roads on a consumption model rather than an investment model, so we were constantly falling behind.”
Tighe-Umbers said NRC is glad to see the Coalition Government has “ringfenced” the investment in the Pothole Prevention Fund to resealing, rehabilitation, and drainage maintenance works to ensure state highways and local roads are brought up to a safe and reliable standard.
“Potholes have attracted a lot of unwanted attention over the last couple of years as New Zealanders nationwide have vented their pothole frustrations across every communication medium possible,” he said.
“While the frustrations are real, no one could envy NZTA’s growing fix it task on a shoestring budget. [This announcement that the Government is delivering on its commitment to boost funding for pothole prevention is welcome relief across the board.
“For the transport industry, where the road is the workplace, and safety is linked to a quality, maintained road network, we are extremely pleased to see this coming through as a priority.”
Transporting New Zealand is also right behind the announcement.
Interim CEO Dom Kalasih said the fund will go a long way towards fixing up run-down roads and highways, which will make travel a lot smoother for everyone.
“This is the sort of investment we need to do, and it is good to see this is part of a three-year plan which shows a commitment to better roads,” he said.
With $2.07 billion allocated for pothole prevention on highways and $1.9 billion on local roads, Kalasih says that should make a huge dent in the pothole problem.
“That’s not only good for our members, but it’s good for all Kiwi motorists.”
He said a recent study by the Ministry of Transport says heavy trucks cover 76% of their public sector roading costs, the most of all road users.
“Our truckies are more than happy to contribute via road user charges to a system that focuses on keeping the roads up to a high standard.”
Kalasih added increased funding for New Zealand’s roads is needed on an ongoing basis to ensure consistent economic growth.
