"New Seal" ....my arse...

[Ulsterkiwi]

Wife and I have been having a blast riding around the far north and were commenting on the lack of roadworks.
A few kms north of Dargaville we came on several stretches where that poxy ridiculous damnable excuse for a road surface fix hot bitumen and chips had been used. One in particular was completely ridiculous. Riding at 20kph it was like being shot at in Ramadi. The chips were absolutely everywhere hitting our legs bodies and helmets
We stopped in Dargaville and I spent an hour pulling sticky stone chips jammed everywhere in the bikes. Swingarms, chain guards, motors, dashboards, forks, foot pegs even the brake calipers were loaded up, fkn dangerous!
Mad as hell! Why do TPTB insist on such a shitty idea that only serves to make the roads more dangerous, especially in the heat at this time of year when the bitumen is n ver going to cure. It's about as sealed as Trump's mouth.
Aaarrrrrghhh!!!!!!!!!


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[Blackbird]

Better have a chat with your mate at NZTA :innocent:

[george formby]

Welcome to Northland! Most of the roadworks on the East coast were pushed out prior to Christmas, pre holiday rush I guess.

Tar bleed and gravel on the road are to be expected up here. PITA. Lucky you did not hit the dark brown scoria. It's invisible until you hear it pinging or catch a slide.

Getting the tarry little bits of gravel out of the shock is a Mensa exercise.

[HenryDorsetCase]

Why do TPTB insist on such a shitty idea that only serves to make the roads more dangerous, especially in the heat at this time of year when the bitumen is n ver going to cure. It's about as sealed as Trump's mouth.
Aaarrrrrghhh!!!!!!!!!


Its the cheapest way of doing it.

[swbarnett]

Do you have photos? Personally, I think whoever authorised this crap should be done for wilful damage.

[grbaker]

NZTA could really do with a Issues or Complaints web page... but ye can link them to you conversations on Facebook.

[Tazz]

It's bloody amateur. A lot of folks on here just write it off as a 'hazard of riding' but to me it is shoddy bloody work that wouldn't be put up with in other industries. My neighbour is a road contractor who gets irate about some of the piss poor work other crews do which shows the problem is definitely known within the industry.

[Black Knight]

My observation oop Norf is that the loose gravel is not swept-Fulton Hogan or Transfield (depending on who has the contract)leave the loose gravel in place and let passing traffic do the "sweeping",it takes about 2 weeks to clear on some roads.A rant to the contractors Roading Manager sometimes helps,especially if you threaten that the next call will be to the Local Council followed by one to NZTA.

[chainsaw]

Not only do the contractors in Nelson / Tasman fail to sweep up but they also have an annoying proclivity to put patches on corners in the worst place for motorcyclists and they leave the patches about 50 cm proud of the main surface - well it feels like 50 cm !:angry2:

[old slider]

Seems to be prevalent in most of the NI, the quality of any resealing work has certainly reduced around central NZ , each year it seems to get worse, if that's possible. I presumed it was due to cost cutting with possibly having a tender process in place, rather than getting high quality work.

[Ulsterkiwi]

I should have taken photos but to be honest I was so pissed off after spending all that time trying to clean the mess up I just wanted away from it all.
I had to pull all the luggage off the bikes, was up to my elbows with bitumen and my tools were covered in the shit as well and it was stinking hot, my temper was frayed. Fortunately there was a well stocked BP down the street where I got a tub of cleaner and got cleaned up before putting everything back together and gearing up again.
I also think complaining will be like arguing with Cassina, it makes you more frustrated and nothing changes


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[Ocean1]

Seems to be prevalent in most of the NI,

I had to wait 10 min once, down mid-south somewhere while they re-surfaced the road. The bitumen truck was just finishing as we arrived so we all parked up an watched as they laid the chip. The results were rolled with a big rubber roller and that was it, done.

I expected chips flung in all directions, but there was none at all, looked like every chip had contacted bitumen and staid there, bugger all bitumen could be seen at all and zero loose chip on top. We rode on unscathed, near perfect job, so it can be done properly.

This NEVER happens in the north, there's invariably shit from arsehole to breakfast, chip flying everywhere for days after and dog knows how much damage to paint. Typically there's holes in it needing patches fairly quickly too, like the brand new Haywards hill surface, chip seal directly on basecourse, a month later: holes everywhere.

I have to say that I have had some luck with holding the contractors responsible though. Once the whole road outside work was resurfaced, and every car leaving that night ended up with bitumen spread all over the paintwork. A call to the council had a team of 5 or 6 contractor employees cleaning cars in the company car park for the next two days.

[swbarnett]

Typically there's holes in it needing patches fairly quickly too, like the brand new Haywards hill surface, chip seal directly on basecourse, a month later: holes everywhere.
Part of Mill Rd. near Bombay (main road from Pukekohe and the best route to the motorway) was resealed about a year or so ago. Loose chip straight on the old surface. I think, from memory, that there were holes in it the next day. They had to reseal the whole stretch again a couple of weeks later. They must've been torn a new one because the second surface is still there and is still somewhat acceptable.

[WristTwister]

This is what happens when they give the contract to the lowest bidder.

It only takes two trucks, one tipping hot asphalt out the back, the second tipping gravel. Done by lunchtime.


http://www.loupiote.com/photos_l/91957504-bad-rocky-road-vietnam.jpg
:done:

[swbarnett]

It only takes two trucks, one tipping hot asphalt out the back, the second tipping gravel. Done by lunchtime.
Yeah, it seems like the difference between this and a proper job may just be the use of a decent roller.

[old slider]

Yeah, it seems like the difference between this and a proper job may just be the use of a decent roller.


I know nothing about resealing but there seems to be a huge difference between the sealing jobs on different roads, maybe its the temp of the tar or size or type of chip being used, one section of road I wish I had never come across was on the parapara a few years back, blackish loose chip which looked like it had been pre mixed with some sort of tar or sticky shit was being laid and left for public vehicles to roll in for them, destroyed my vehicles paint work with being showered not only from my own tyres, but "all other traffic" coming the other way, my discs brakes were squealing with all the chip getting lodged in them regardless of all the repeated stopping at every available rest area to back up trying to clear them. I believe its all cost and contractor experience related.

[oldiebutagoody]

Interesting thread, and from my own experiences very pertinent.

So just a question,..........who would be the most likely candidate to raise this issue at Council level around the country to get some sort of motorcycle awareness by roading contractors when doing resealing?

What org. motorcycle related has in the past or potentially in the future has put their hand up to tackle roading seal quality and hazards?

Thinking along the H&S lines, are contractors not responsible for ensuring they do not create a hazard for road users as part of their job, u know,......safety before productivity kinda thing?

When does real sloppy sealing work become a reckless disregard case?

Just some musings.

[Wheelie8]

Happens on the South Island too. Put me off riding for a while. Maybe that is the tactic.

[Hads]

They did just this on a hill section of the Akaroa highway, loose gravel for weeks. Once the cars had rolled it for them, they then painted the lines back on the road. It was at the first overtaking lane going up the hill to the hilltop on the Akaroa side.

[Swoop]

I'm perplexed with a local road which has had a "rehabilitation" done on it. Not just lay some new tarseal, but digging it up and fucking around for months, then laying some new tarseal.
One would expect the new surface to be "rather nice" but nooooooo.

It is worse than it was before the cockwombles attacked it with vast amounts of ratepayers money.

[Grumph]

Sadly the only incentive for local councils is to do the repair as cheaply as possible...Quality control is left to local ratepayer groups to moan loud enough that they might take notice.

Local to me we lost the excellent - and council owned - Sicon and the contracts went to HEB who would be the laziest and worst roading outfit I've ever seen.
When the situation gets out of control and HEB have shown they can't fix something...THEN we get Fulton Hogan - the pros down here anyway.

[Jin]

I'm perplexed with a local road which has had a "rehabilitation" done on it. Not just lay some new tarseal, but digging it up and fucking around for months, then laying some new tarseal.
One would expect the new surface to be "rather nice" but nooooooo.

It is worse than it was before the cockwombles attacked it with vast amounts of ratepayers money.
This wouldn't be east Coast road on the shore would it? Fuckers ripping up perfect tarseal and replacing with ripply uneven crap. Looks like out right fraud and theft of ratepayers money that road is being "repaired".

Same deal with the chipseal on the way to waipu cove. And sh16. And the road to maraitai. Cunts.

[Zedder]

Interesting thread, and from my own experiences very pertinent.

So just a question,..........who would be the most likely candidate to raise this issue at Council level around the country to get some sort of motorcycle awareness by roading contractors when doing resealing?

What org. motorcycle related has in the past or potentially in the future has put their hand up to tackle roading seal quality and hazards?

Thinking along the H&S lines, are contractors not responsible for ensuring they do not create a hazard for road users as part of their job, u know,......safety before productivity kinda thing?

When does real sloppy sealing work become a reckless disregard case?

Just some musings.

I'm not up with the likely candidate at Council level or org.motorcycle info but work on a do-it-yourself basis. For State Highways it's the NZTA, and local Councils for roads in their juristiction, apart from Auckland where it's the Auckland Motorways Alliance.

In terms of the reckless disregard scenario, IIRC there's been only one case in 2000 where a motorcyclist took a contractor to court and won. Otherwise, as far as I know due to a case in 1963, the ruling has been for no common law liabilty ie: negligence or private nuisance for roading authorities.

[Swoop]

This wouldn't be east Coast road on the shore would it? Fuckers ripping up perfect tarseal and replacing with ripply uneven crap. Looks like out right fraud and theft of ratepayers money that road is being "repaired".
Nope, not EC Rd. Out West.
I guess we all fall under the Auckland Cuntcil methodology of road repair...

For State Highways it's the NZTA, ... apart from Auckland where it's the Auckland Motorways Alliance.
The "motorway alliance" is only for the building of the tunnels and new interchange/roading improvements.

[Zedder]

The "motorway alliance" is only for the building of the tunnels and new interchange/roading improvements.


No it isn't, they operate and maintain the motorway system: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/auckland-motorway-alliance/

[Swoop]

No it isn't, they operate and maintain the motorway system: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/auckland-motorway-alliance/

My apologies. Confusing them with the Causeway Alliance. http://www.planning.org.nz/Folder?Action=View%20File&Folder_id=265&File=WOODWARD_PURDY.pdf

Hopefully there is NO input from Auckland City Council with either group (to avoid the size of cock-ups only they can instigate).

[Zedder]

My apologies. Confusing them with the Causeway Alliance. http://www.planning.org.nz/Folder?Action=View%20File&Folder_id=265&File=WOODWARD_PURDY.pdf

Hopefully there is NO input from Auckland City Council with either group (to avoid the size of cock-ups only they can instigate).


No problem.
I understand your feelings on Auckland Council, unfortunately they're part of it all under the Auckland Transport Alignment Project.