The programme includes about 23km of local roads across 195 sites. This is part of Council’s usual maintenance work, where around three to five per cent of road surfaces are renewed each year to protect them from water damage, reduce potholes, and avoid more costly repairs later.
Council’s City Future Committee asked staff last week to investigate whether communities could choose to pay a targeted rate to keep their asphalt road surfaces rather than have a chip seal surface in future. Staff will investigate the costs, legal and policy requirements, and how a scheme could work in practice, before reporting back to Council later this year.
Committee Chair Cr Marten Rozeboom says while Council's current Long-term Plan policy remains a fit-for-purpose approach, Councillors have seen strong community interest in retaining more expensive asphalt surfaces, particularly in areas such as Pāpāmoa.
"We want further investigation by staff to provide communities with clear information and an opportunity to give feedback before any future Long-term Plan considerations."
As part of Council's commitment to improving communication with residents last year, a letter has been sent to people living on streets that will be getting a chipseal surface over their asphalt road in this year’s programme.
Chipseal is used to reseal most residential streets because it costs at least five times less than asphalt. It is widely used throughout New Zealand and enables Council to secure NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) funding for around half of its $9 million resurfacing programme, helping deliver better value for money for ratepayers.
Head of Transport Mike Seabourne says chipseal remains the preferred surface treatment because it’s a safe, durable, and cost-effective option for residential streets.
“By using chipseal, we can look after more of the road network within the funding available and help keep rates down as much as possible."
Chipseal involves spraying hot bitumen on the existing road surface, with stone sealing chips added and rolled to bed the chips into the bitumen.
Loose chips can be expected after it’s been swept and may need extra sweeps until it settles.
Resurfacing is done during the warmer months – from late September to late March as warmer temperatures help the bitumen remain flexible, so it can bind well to the existing surface and hold the chipseal firmly in place.
For more information about the resurfacing programme visit www.tauranga.govt.nz/road-resurfacing.