???, Wednesday, ???, ???? May 29, 2019
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Roads quality slammed By Sue Newman
sue.n@theguardian.co.nz
In spite of more than $13 million being poured into roading work around the Ashburton District, residents say the state of the district’s roads is getting worse every year. The Ashburton District Council’s annual residents’ survey showed that satisfaction with the district’s sealed roads had hit an
all-time low, just 38 per cent. Ten years ago satisfaction levels sat at 76 per cent. Pothole complaints topped the list, with 65 per cent of respondents saying they were their number one gripe, with 47 per cent saying repairs were too slow in coming and when they did they were of poor quality. And those results have council group services manager Neil Mc-
Cann wondering what more his roading teams and contractors can do. Feedback from community reference groups set up by the council to monitor the state of the district’s roads indicated the network was improving, but every year the results of the residents’ survey told a different story, he said. “This is pretty depressing for staff after all the time and effort
– and money – that’s being spent. We just don’t know how to beat this perception that the district’s roads are in poor condition; it’s frustrating.” As well as spending millions of dollars that attracted a subsidy from the NZ Transport Agency on roading work, the council for the past few years has spent around $1 million extra each year of ratepayers’ money on fixing roads.
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Repair work on potholes was only ever a temporary fix and it was not until a full dig out and reseal was carried out that there was a permanent fix. That work was always well planned and scheduled, McCann said.
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