Residents and contractor frustrated as Waimarama Rd gets reworked again

BACK AGAIN: Russel Roads laying asphalt concrete on parts of Waimarama Rd.

Workers have been forced to return and fix a Hawke's Bay road up to half a dozen times in four months.

Contractor Russell Roads has finished resealing Waimarama Rd for "about the sixth time" after it was asked to redo its earlier work.

However, Russell Roads director Chris Russell maintains the now completed work was simply what it was asked to do.

Potholes, chips and corrugation of the road's surface are just a few of the problems that have plagued the road since resurfacing work first began in September.

At the start of this month, Russell Roads workers were back at the two worst-affected areas; just off the Tukituki Bridge heading west and the stretch of road 4km past the Ocean Beach turnoff.

Mr Russell said the seal used on the road previously was not suited to the environment.

"The chip seal was more or less a holding measure until the proper seal could go on. It is quite common to reseal asphalt concrete where required. Asphalt concrete is a far superior product. Sharper corners, especially with big trucks using the road frequently, can cause issues with chip seal."

"We are doing the last of the corners with asphalt concrete over the chip seal, which is required on steep sections. It is a much better seal. We are hoping not to be back."

Mr Russell said because of the time of the year, they were unable to put the asphalt on as the weather was not warm enough.

He did admit the vocal criticism of the work had hurt the company's reputation.

"I hope the public realises that there has been a lot of controversy around the job.

"We've taken a lot of flak and I think we could have handled the matter better, but now it's about getting the job done."

Waimarama resident Colin Rafferty had earlier said that the potholes and amount of reworking had been "laughable".

"It is looking a lot better. I'm picking the company got a bollocking from somebody."

Mr Rafferty believed with the trucks frequently using the road, the "corrugation would just become worse and worse".

Another resident, Elizabeth Boogaard, said the road was flawed.

"I don't want to be a wet blanket, but other people aren't happy and I'm not happy about it either."

Towards the end of October, the Hastings District Council issued a review after sections of the then newly resurfaced Waimarama Rd started crumbling and breaking away; just weeks after the first lot of work had been completed.

In November, a temporary patching was carried out to try and level out the road.

The company was back at the site earlier this month after being told by the council to fix the issue.

When the first part of asphalt concrete was laid, Hastings District councillor, Bayden Barber said the road was beginning to look much better.

"I've driven out there a few times now and it's definitely an improvement from what was there before."

"I am happy Russell Roads had the opportunity to rectify the road and I hope lessons are learnt moving forward. Ratepayers expect a value for money - the majority of ratepayers' money is used on roads," Mr Barber said.

"My opinion is that we need to ensure a quality job is being done. It must last longer than a few months - more like a couple of years."