Waka Kotahi's Jacqui Hori-Hoult said road crews repair thousands of potholes each year. Photo / Tania Whyte
Northlanders' hopes of having safe, pothole-free roads to drive on appear to be sinking faster than the Titanic if a new social media group is anything to go by.
Earlier this week Kerikeri resident John Baird started the Northland Potholes Facebook group so fellow motorists can share the locations of hazardous potholes "for the safety of other road users".
Since the group started on Monday, nearly 1000 members have joined, with dozens posting examples of potholes on state highways and local roads around the region.
There have also been several humorous posts, including one of Kate Winslet holding on to Leonardo DiCaprio as he fights for his life in a shoulder-deep pothole filled with water, similar to the famous scene in the Titanic.
A couple of others posted photos of cars with "Not Drunk, Avoiding Potholes" stickers.
But it was no laughing matter when Sue Culham from Whangārei smashed into a "huge pothole" in her Mini while travelling north on SH1 just after Maromaku on Tuesday.
She said she couldn't swerve as "I would have hit oncoming traffic".
"I had my daughter in the car and I was so scared I was going to crash.
"Then I got just past the Horeke turnoff over the one-lane bridge and again huge potholes, luckily I managed to swerve.
"Someone's going to be killed, it's absolutely ridiculous."
Culham has been quoted $570 for a new tyre and she'll also need a wheel alignment. She won't know if there has been any rim damage until they get the tyre off.
She said the pothole she hit was just one of many on SH1.
"I can give you hundreds of places from Houhora to Whangārei – it's SH1 the whole way."
Culham was further incensed when she read a Herald story about Waka Kotahi's "wasteful" spending of $25 million on a fit-out for its new Wellington offices.
Culham said no one is held accountable for the poor state of the region's roads.
"We pay our taxes in our petrol, we pay our road user charges and our regos.
"We pay all this money, but it's certainly not going into our roads.
"No one wants to take responsibility for this.
"We would have WorkSafe on our arses if we were running a business like this."
National's transport spokesman Simeon Brown said Waka Kotahi can't fix the potholes on New Zealand's state highways "but can find $25m for a plush head office fit-out in Wellington".
"Waka Kotahi needs safe office spaces to work in, but eye-watering spending of taxpayer money on an office fit-out doesn't sit well during a cost-of-living crisis," Brown said.
"Minister Wood [Transport Minister Michael Wood] should fix the potholes, not the office furniture."
Other examples of dangerous roads with potholes include Oruaiti near Mangōnui, also on SH1.
One motorist, Nat Bell, said the following about her drive from Kerikeri to Whangārei recently.
"I have to say it is the worst road I have ever driven on. The amount of craters I experienced was out of this world.
"We had a holiday to Costa Rica a few years back and they have better roads than up here."
Waka Kotahi spokeswoman Jacqui Hori-Hoult said road crews "proactively monitor Northland's state highways 24/7 for issues including potholes, and repair thousands each year".
"Potholes can develop very quickly when water penetrates the road's surface.
"High volumes of rainfall, coupled with ever-moving ground conditions in Northland, makes it a particularly challenging environment for road maintenance.
"Once water does penetrate the road's surface it can have a significant impact, causing the road to become saturated, resulting in potholes and other damage."
Baird set up the Facebook group so people could warn each other of potential hazards.
He said he was pleased with the group's popularity, as dozens of spots have been identified on both state highways and local roads.
"The main thread that's coming through is that the patches don't last.
"There's a fair bit of commentary around that, and at the end of the day if they don't last they are doing a crappy job.
"There's no doubt the repair work isn't satisfactory from a safety perspective."
Hori-Hoult said pothole repairs during winter are done "using a temporary fill".
"Follow-up work is carried out in summer when warm and dry conditions allow for longer-term repairs," she said.
"In the last year Waka Kotahi invested more than $43m in maintaining Northland's state highways, and delivered one of the largest road maintenance programmes Northland has ever had."
However, that doesn't wash with Owen Vaughan, who said SH1 from Auckland to the North is "a disgrace".
"The whole of Northland economy has to travel on it and compared to the roads south it shows how neglected it is."
Northland MP Willow-Jean Prime said potholes are "an ongoing issue that we have on all our roads, both the local roads and state highway network".
"They are very common this time of the year.
"In terms of the last couple of weeks of weather more potholes have been emerging.
"It's not well understood by the community, you can't resolve the potholes while the weather is still bad."
Prime urged motorists to report potholes and damaged roads to local councils and Waka Kotahi.
• Waka Kotahi's dedicated phone number is 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49), Far North District Council 0800 920 029, Kaipara District Council 0800 727 059 and Whangarei District Council 0800 932 463.