The first was about a lack of quality control after roadworks at Makaraka.
The second was over the state of the road in Seddon Crescent, which he said had reduced over the years to little more than tar that quickly liquified in hot weather.
The road was “dangerously” pitted for 100 metres with a series of potholes, some as deep as 10 centimetres.
His first letter seemed to have “done the trick” in getting loose chip that was left on roadworks near his work at Main Road, Makaraka, finally swept away.
Before then it was “ankle deep in places” and almost caused him to come off his motorbike one day, he said.
Road markings had been sprayed on to the loose chip only to be lost as the chip got spread by traffic.
The council took further action this week.
As he drove to work on Thursday morning, Mr Saunders noticed contractors must have worked overnight to repaint the lost road markings at Makaraka.
Later that morning, contractors attended to the road surface in Seddon Crescent, albeit with another quick fix which Mr Saunders criticised.
The Gisborne Herald approached the council for comment on Wednesday and while GDC's Journeys infrastructure manager Dave Hadfield said repairs were programmed for Seddon Crescent this week, Mr Saunders believes it took him going to the media to get any action.
“I find that unacceptable.”
Residents had been contacting the council — even the mayor — asking for the potholes to be properly remediated since 2020.
Last November they received a letter saying work to “repair” their road would begin in March 2023.
This week's quick fix was unexpected and not what Mr Saunders had hoped for.
As in his February 3 letter, he said the road was so bad it needed rebuilding.
Mr Hadfield said: “Pothole repairs for Seddon Crescent are programmed for this week, with permanent construction of 120 metres programmed for March.
“We had hoped to complete these earlier but challenging weather events like November 2022 and ex-tropical Cyclone Hale meant we had to reprioritise resources to reopen rural roads to restore access to our community and heavy freight.
“Our contractors have started a major six-week roading programme on Tiniroto Road. Once this is complete, Seddon Crescent is next on the list.”
Mr Saunders said a succession of patch-up jobs over the years had added to the Seddon Crescent problems by creating undulating areas of tar that had been ejected by traffic or weather from poorly filled potholes.
“Of course it comes down to money doesn't it? But guys coming round with trucks with tarmac on, throwing the tarmac off the truck and treading it in with boots — that's not an accepted repair method.”
The proper method was to cut the sides of the pothole with a petrol cut-off saw, fill it to 50mm of the top with well-graded metal if necessary, then mechanically compact tarmac or asphalt to road level. Liquid mastic was often used to then seal the edges, he said.
A staff member in the council's Journeys infrastructure department previously told him the council had informed their contractors not to fill potholes with tarmac and stamp in with boots or the back of a shovel — yet that was all he had ever seen done here and it appeared to have been done again in Seddon Crescent this week.
Mr Saunders said the council's tender process for roadworks was affecting quality.
Jobs were being done too cheaply with the use of incorrect materials and incorrect methods.
Mr Saunders stressed that was not the fault of the roading staff doing the jobs. It came down to decisions being made by those providing the materials and instructing workers on what to do with them.
He accepted roading problems were plaguing the whole country. He believed that was because New Zealand hadn't followed suit of other developed countries and switched from using tarseal to asphalt.
“It's more permanent, it's more hard-wearing, it stands up to the weather . . . if they'd had a proper hard-wearing, proven road surface on our roads — like made of asphalt — and proper drainage, this wouldn't be happening across our region.”
The council usually blamed weather events for the state of the roads but it was the ongoing use of tarseal that caused the damage “because it's outdated, inferior, and cheap”, he said. “European roads don't disintegrate every time it rains because they use hot mastic asphalt.”
Mr Hadfield said all councils would love to use asphalt but it came at a significant cost compared to tarsealing.
“Council's sealed network is 630km long which is the distance travelling by car from Auckland to Wellington.
“To maintain this long network and try to keep rates affordable means Council's default treatment is tarsealing.”
Mr Saunders noted Mr Hadfield's response to The Gisborne Herald's inquiries this week still did not address his concern about a lack of quality control in roading work.
* Mr Saunders holds various relevant qualifications, including for his previous work in the UK in pipeline construction for gas and water companies. He also has a New Zealand qualification in civil infrastructure (roading) and has worked in the water and roading industries here.
