"It's a matter of good road surfaces, good roading (engineering and maintenance) habits," Rintoul said.
Rintoul is a 35-year Northland-based roading contracting veteran who worked on state highways and district council local roads.
He ran a major roading contracting business which won an award for work including a major 2000 Brynderwyn slip repair and replacing an Auckland road bridge while it remained open for traffic. Rintoul is also a past member of Northland's regional transport committee.
He said highway roading maintenance now tended to focus on temporarily repairing rather than fixing issues. This led to more frequent road works being required.
Rintoul said good workmanship would mean roading that lasted for decades, rather than needing constant attention.
This included using the right roading construction equipment, good road camber, and design that created a positive tension between vehicle and road.
Rintoul said Waka Kotahi's sinking budget was being spread even more thinly in
Northland than previously.
The geographic area the roading authority called Northland had before 2018 been the area from roughly Wellsford north.
But the southern boundary had at that time been shifted southward to also include Auckland from Kumeū north. This meant the roading authority's spend being spread over a wider area. Its budget was now also required to be spent on footpaths, cycling and wharves.
He said putting wire barrier fences down the middle of the state highway could create problems for emergency services trying to access a vehicle crash.
Rintoul said the closure of Marsden Point Oil Refinery was a key contributor to state highway speeds being lowered.
Bitumen, used for road surfacing, would no longer be produced at the refinery, meaning it had to be imported and would cost more.
He said this matter was one that had been discussed in his time on the board and lowering speed limits was seen as a way to address this.
Slower road speeds mean less road engineering and repair work is potentially required.
Rintoul said state highways in Northland were already being sealed less frequently than in other parts of the country. The focus had increasingly shifted to urban areas.
Rintoul said road transport would suffer from the lower speeds. This included those hauling logs.
"This would mean more trucks, trips and longer on the road," Rintoul said.
Formal public consultation on the proposed Northland state highway speed limit changes opens next month.
Rintoul said Northlanders should make sure to put in submissions.
"Northlanders need to make sure their voices are heard, to keep up that voice of provincial New Zealand. It's the squeaky wheel effect, especially when Auckland roads are now included in what Waka Kotahi considers to be Northland," Rintoul said.
Northland was furthest from the centre of power in Wellington.
"Keep thumping the table," Rintoul said.
