Neville Reid is filling in potholes out of frustration. Photo / Andrew Warner
Potholes littering Tauranga streets are being blamed for popped tyres, damaged wheel bearings and injured ankles.
One resident says she had to buy another car after two rims were badly damaged and not worth fixing while a frustrated retiree has taken to filling potholes himself and says the roads are "horrible".
The Tauranga City Council says heavy rain has contributed to an increase in potholes - a trend that's been seen right across New Zealand - and it is now spending $200,000 more than it was two years ago.
Resources were stretched with "urgent repairs or dangerous potholes" being prioritised.
That's not good enough for Mount resident Neville Reid, who has had a "gutsful" and is vowing to continue to patch some up himself, despite the council indicating this could be punishable by a fine.
Reid said the potholes in Tauranga were "horrible" and he knew of people who had blown out tyres and damaged the suspension on their vehicles.
"I know I have."
Reid had filled potholes in the past with a mixture of cement and slurry.
"It's not a permanent fix but it will stop people from having to drive through deep potholes. I don't care if I get arrested."
Motorist Unity Webster said she "smashed two wheel rims" along Pāpāmoa Beach Rd on a dark, rainy night.
"I didn't bother fixing them [rims] as the damage was so bad and I have since purchased a new car."
She rang the council the following morning to complain.
"They said we take no responsibility for people hitting potholes and didn't offer any compensation but they're bloody quick to give you a parking ticket or book you on Links Ave."
Since then she hit another pothole and popped a brand new tyre.
"The roads are ridiculous," Webster said.
Barbara Winchester said it cost her $750 to fix wheel bearings caused by a large unavoidable pothole in Truman Lane a couple of months ago.
"The speed limit was under 50 kilometres and the council was not interested when I rang them," Winchester said.
Karolyn Timarkos, who lives on Pāpāmoa Beach Rd, said the potholes were really bad and in her opinion, some appeared to crumble a week after they were fixed.
She said the road was like an obstacle course and you had to weave to miss the big potholes.
"If there was a cop behind me they'd think I was drunk driving... some of the potholes are a good two to three inches deep."
Matt Moore's ankle has been twisted three times in potholes on Carmichael Rd, Waihi Rd and Cambridge Rd. He delivers papers early in the morning and said he now straps his ankle up to his knee.
"It hurts like anything," Moore said.
Tauranga City Council figures show to the end of August it had repaired 758 potholes compared to 901 in 2021 and 553 in 2020.
Budgets had also increased from $89,000 in 2020/21 to $289,000 in 2021/22 and about $297,000 for the 2022/23 financial year.
Transport network operations manager Tony Bonetti said the budgets had increased due to a combination of factors. These included general cost/inflationary increases and a new contract model from December 1 last year to encompass traffic control costs, as well the recognition "more budget needs to be allocated to this type of work".
"Significant rainfall over the last two months has contributed to an increase in potholes on our local roading network. This has been seen right across New Zealand, and not just in Tauranga," Bonetti said.
"The increase in potholes has stretched our resources and we have had to prioritise urgent repairs of dangerous potholes as quickly and safely as possible, as they are a serious hazard to road users."
Potholes classified as less urgent were put on a programme and repaired as soon as resources were available.
Bonetti said residents filling in potholes themselves may be an offence and punishable by a fine.
Pothole repairs in winter were a temporary fix, permanent repairs take place in the summer months in the warmer, drier weather conditions.
"Wet weather and heavy traffic impact how long a temporary fix will last, and we have seen significant rainfall over the last two months," Bonetti said.
When potholes were reported and logged via the council's call centre, they were assessed then assigned to its traffic team.
"We respond to every report and aim to call customers back with an update within 48 hours to let them know what we are doing about their enquiry."
Data reveals the council had received 240 enquiries about potholes so far this year and 226 last year, which could not be broken down into the number of complaints.
However, the council was pleased to report some positive feedback from its Customer Queries Database.
"Thank you so much for being so onto it with repairing potholes lately. A week or two ago they all opened up again with heavy overnight rain and they were repaired by mid-morning the next day. Amazing. Thank you. Thank you," one resident wrote.
Bonetti said in addition to pothole repairs its contractor Fulton Hogan had completed more than 16,400 square metres of pavement repairs this year, compared to 10,500sq m in 2020.
Additional contracting resources were also bought in for 300,000sq m of resurfacing and renewal work which had been completed. The previous average annual resurfacing and renewal programme of about 200,000sq m per year.
Waka Kotahi Bay of Plenty system manager Roger Brady said this winter had seen a significant increase in potholes across the country, compared to the past three years.
Brady said it was due to the current network conditions and wet winter.
For the financial year to June 30 this year, there were 3713 potholes repaired on Waka Kotahi highways in the Bay of Plenty compared with 3222, 3280 and 3260 in the previous three years.
Brady said all potholes should be fixed within 48 hours of contractors being notified.
He said they had a plan to improve the overall state highway road condition and it was investing $2.8 billion into state highway road maintenance nationally.
"This summer will see approximately 2450 lane kilometres of state highway resealed or rebuilt, the largest ever programme Waka Kotahi has undertaken."
Brady said it only paid compensation for damage on rare occasions when its contractors hadn't fixed the potholes within the required 48-hour period of being notified.
What causes potholes?
• Typically, potholes form when water gets through the road surface into the pavement below and starts to saturate and weaken the structure of the road.
• Every wheel-load that passes over a weakened section of road puts the water in the pavement and surface layers under pressure, and over time and the repeated action of traffic it continues to weaken the road surface. This opens more cracks, letting in more water and eventually the road surface starts to break up and a hole form.
• People can report potholes to the council on 07 577 7000 or email info@tauranga.govt.nz 24/7, including public holidays.
• When it rains the additional water on the road surface speeds up the failure and potholes can form quickly in very wet conditions, and especially where heavy traffic is present.
- Source: Tauranga City Council
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