Boost to see more rural roads sealed

Ross Paterson.

Pressure from Western Bay's rural ratepayers has succeeded in adding $2.5 million to the money earmarked to seal gravel roads.

The boost in funding to $3.5 million meant the Western Bay District Council will seal at least 12km of rural roads this year - four times the distance achieved previously. It was done without resorting to rate increases but from the council tapping into roading surpluses.

Mayor Ross Paterson said after yesterday's meeting that the council had come under increasing pressure over the last two or three years to increase the pace of seal extensions. There were about 188km of unsealed roads left in the district.

One million of the $2.5 million funding top-up was from a surplus in long-term roading budgets for works on Te Puke Highway - the former section of SH2 that returned to council ownership after the Tauranga Eastern Link was built.

The final agreement between the council and New Zealand Transport Agency resulted in $560,000 of unspent roading rate. The council was also claiming for agency subsidies on administration and salary overheads.

"This has resulted in a budget surplus of $750,000 in roading. The total 2015-16 budget surplus is $1.41 million," councillors were told by staff.

Yesterday's meeting decided to put $1 million of the $1.41 million into seal extensions and up to $180,000 towards the cost of laying the concrete Summerset cycle trail in Katikati. The rest of the money was tagged to roading projects, with decisions expected to be made next year. Another $1 million came out of the wash-up of the former performance-based road maintenance contract which had been retendered and won by the Westlink consortium.

The other $500,000 came from a reduction in the Te Puke Highway depreciation and operating budgets, resulting in a road rate surplus for 2016-17. A potential additional surplus of $750,000 would be retained in the roading account to be used for a variety of projects.

Councillor Margaret Murray-Benge said the submissions from the rural community had been loud and clear and there was a desperate need for the council to take the lead. "An awful lot of the rural community did not have sealed roads."

Western Bay rural road seal extensions:

* How far: At least 12km

* How much: $3.5 million

* Construction period: From July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017