Ruapehu District Council assures community roads well-managed despite challenges

Bad weather, logging harvest and a shortage of skilled road workers had an impact on Ruapehu's roads this winter.

A "perfect storm" created a challenge for maintaining the Ruapehu District's roads and frustrated rural communities during the 2018 winter.

Ruapehu District Council land transport manager Warren Furner said a combination of prolonged wet weather, logging activity and a shortage of skilled road workers had created a perfect storm.

"Council and our road management partners have been working to resolve the issues and so were not surprised at the feedback we received," Furner said.

"While the challenges of getting experienced road crews continue to affect the whole industry, we are confident we can manage the issues raised by our communities.

"Our efforts will be greatly assisted by the NZ Transport Agency [NZTA] agreeing to council's request to bring forward the implementation of a 72 per cent funding assistance rate [FAR] subsidy to this 2018/19 year."

The council meets three times a year with communities in the district's remote rural river valleys. The River Valley Meetings started nine years ago and assist the council with making decisions about the road network.

"They provide the opportunity to meet with the communities we serve and gain first-hand knowledge of local road conditions and any 'hot spots' that require urgent remedial attention," Furner said.

"The input from local residents has enabled better decisions about where to spend our limited road improvement dollars and has been invaluable in improving the safety of local rural roads."

The River Valley Meetings rotate throughout the district and this year will be held in Waimiha, Ōhakune and Kaitieke.