More than 54,000 potholes needed repairing on New Zealand’s State Highways in 2022, the highest level in a decade.
The Waka Kotahi data was provided to National transport spokesperson Simeon Brown in response to written questions.
“Kiwis are sick and tired of driving on roads that are peppered with potholes which have been damaging vehicles and causing havoc for motorists.
“I am continually hearing from Kiwis who say the roads are the worst they’ve ever seen them, and these figures prove it,” Brown says.
It follows earlier calls from the transport industry for the Government to fund more road maintenance after Waka Kotahi confirmed it received a record number of complaints about vehicle damage caused by potholes.
In previous statements, transport minister Michael Wood is pointing the finger back at National and says the introduction of heavier trucks came at a time when the National Party “froze” maintenance budgets for eight years.
The National Road Carriers (NRC) is calling for a 50-year roading infrastructure plan to be locked-in out of political reach.
It says this this will give road contractors a pipeline of work, and the confidence to invest in tooling up, delivering more roading for the dollar over the long-term.
