Around 98% of potholes on state highways are being repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says.
It follows the introduction of targets in July last year for NZ Transport Agency contractors to repair 95% of potholes on main state highways and 85% of potholes on regional state highways within 24 hours of identification.
The Government’s Pothole Prevention Fund allocated $2.07 billion for state highway pothole prevention and $1.9b for local road pothole prevention over three years.
“Our Government promised change to Kiwis and the freight sector, and we are delivering on that promise,” Bishop says.
“The NZ Transport Agency is now delivering a significant programme of works, including a record increase in road rehabilitation, which involves rebuilding entire sections of road rather than just resealing.
“The Government’s Pothole Prevention Fund is delivering a total of 285.6 lane kilometres of rehabilitation work over the summer months – a 124% increase compared to last year. This record level of rehabilitation work will help prevent potholes from forming in the first place,” Bishop says.
The summer maintenance programme began in October 2024 and will be completed by March 2025.
Repairs paying off
National road freight body Transporting NZ says the initiative is paying off, preventing damage to vehicles, supporting road safety and keeping Kiwis moving.
“Potholes and other road surfacing issues can be a nightmare for our members and other motorists,” Transporting NZ chief executive Dom Kalasih says.
“Transporting New Zealand has consistently called for a greater share of road user charges and fuel excise revenue to be directed to road maintenance and rehabilitation.
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve been hearing more complaints from our members and other road users about potholes and road surfacing issues, and these concerns were borne out by the data. In 2023, more than 62,000 potholes required repair on state highways, the highest figure in a decade.
“Potholes can easily do thousands of dollars of damage to trucks and trailers vehicles.
“We’ve had members report erratic driving from other motorists trying to avoid them, or slowing to a crawl, which can be very dangerous,” he says.
Kalasih says the Pothole Prevention Fund initiative is now “paying dividends” and he’s encouraging the newly appointment transport minister to sick with a “hands-on approach”.
However, Kalasih also says while Transporting New Zealand is grateful for how the repairs are going, in an ideal world the work shouldn’t be needed.
“Potholes are isolated failures in stretches of road. When roads are built to a high and consistent standard, these should be minimal. We’ll be engaging with NZTA to ensure road quality remains a priority and that our roads are built to last.”
