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Ashburton District Councilor Stuart Wilson is disappointed that even more money is being earmarked for repairs to Arundel Rakaia Gorge Rd. It’s part of a planned $1.7 million for what he calls “tourist roads.”
An Ashburton councilor is outraged by the plan to spend more money on “tourist roads”.
Councilor Stuart Wilson rejected the proposed direction of the Ashburton District Council’s $1.7 million in additional road funding, saying it was all about just two roads.
“I am very disappointed with what you are spending the money on,” Wilson told council road manager Mark Chamberlain.
“You spread $1.7 million on [Arundel Rakaia Gorge Rd]that’s a damn touristy road.
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“I know it’s a busy road, but I thought we put $1.7 million into it to spread it across the district.
“Most of our maintenance goes to those two roads.”
In subsidized road rehabilitation funding, Arundel Rakaia Gorge Rd, part of Inland Scenic Route 72, has $1.75 million worth of works over five sections and Thompsons Track has $730,400.
That amounts to 67% of the total budget of $3.68 million.
Of the additional $1.7 million from the forestry reserve for unsubsidized road financing, Arundel Rakaia Gorge Rd ($492,200) and Thompsons Track ($424,200) together account for 53% of the spending.
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Thompsons Track has a lot of traffic and is intended for additional rehabilitation work.
Wilson said he knew the decisions were based on traffic volume, but “there are roads that are just as important” to the district.
Chamberlain said the two roads had the most work, as they had the most potholes and network failures.
“If we look in ten years, we shouldn’t be spending money there.”
He said these were the roads that, for safety reasons, needed the work.
In his report to the council, Chamberlain said the rehabilitation work would eliminate everything but minor routine maintenance, second coat seals and resealing for at least 25 years. It would also prevent resources from being used for ongoing repairs to retain the older defective areas of the pavement.
Adam Burns/LDR
Ashburton councilor Stuart Wilson is angry at how much is being spent on two roads in the district.
But Wilson disagreed, suggesting that funding should be spread further across the district and that Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency should raise more money for the two busy roads.
“That [two] roads are semi-tourist roads and I think if NZTA won’t help us spend more money on those roads I’d be very lucky,” Wilson said.
“People can growl and you can say to NZTA, ‘You don’t give us enough money to maintain those roads’.”
Chamberlain said the proposed list of rehabilitations would go to council for final approval.