Transit NZ and their contractors

[Sanx]

I've just finished a small trip from Auckland to Taupo, round the central Waikato and back, and back up to Auckland. Yet again, I'm left wondering how Transit NZ and their contractors manage to survive.

Take SH1, between the Pokeno junction turn off and Meremere. They've just finished resurfacing large portions of it, which included completely digging up the surface in some areas back to the metal. They've now finished the best part of the work, and the road is more uneven and rutted than it was before. You could almost forgive them if the seal surface was better - but it isn't. Less than a month after completion, bits of it are already back to the tarseal. it really must take a special combination of ineptitude and negligence to do a job that badly. Who knows how many millions this work cost, but the government may as well have pissed the money up the wall for all the difference it's made.

SH1 in Taupo was another prime example of incompetence at work. The 'seal repairs' on the lakefront drag consisted of dropping a bit of hot tar then dumping a load of fine gravel on it then a single cursory sweep up afterwards. Virtually no prepartion, no rolling the surface afterwards and absolutely no care or attention. Result: another surface that's worse than when they started, combined with gravel piled up in the gutters and junctions.

And all this doesn't cover the usual combination of poorly signed roadworks, areas of new seal that weren't marked, potholes so big that Iwi are claiming the fishing rights to them, and road surfaces that would have had the Romans laughing into their vino...

[marty]

transit and their contractors survive because there doesn't seem to be any quality control.

take SH1 cambridge for instance. the 50-80k zone just as you head south over the bridge before the 100k zone. 6 weeks ago the (relatively good condition) friction grip smooth tarmac was shaved off, and replaced with coarse chip. it was painted up and swept. the day the paint went on, it started breaking up, holes forming, seal moving. not to mention the some 10dB increase in road noise (my neighbour who specialises in noise management measured it to add weight to a complaint) over the old tarmac.

then amazingly, last week, contactors turned up and laid new smooth racetrack tarmac over the coarse chip!

i stopped and asked one of the guys laying the new seal - they also laid some new seal at the asirport so knew him to talk to - he said the coarse chip had proven so poor and generated so many complaints in the 3 weeks it was down, that they had been called to recover the road ASAP.

the minute the coarse chip went down, it should have been realised that it was not the appropriate roading material for that location. not $250000 later......

[jtzzr]

Yep some of the repairs ion the roads are "PATHETIC"to say the least ,Transit or contractors don`t seem to give a rats arse , nor does the government, we should have roads that are safe to drive/ride on and we do on the Auckland motorways , but nowhere else it seems . So can this be addressed or will the tax paying road user be ignored?

[James Deuce]

Aaaaah stop whinging. It's all going to be sorted with toll roads and super expensive fuel.

[jahrasti]

Yep some of the repairs ion the roads are "PATHETIC"to say the least ,Transit or contractors don`t seem to give a rats arse , nor does the government, we should have roads that are safe to drive/ride on and we do on the Auckland motorways , but nowhere else it seems . So can this be addressed or will the tax paying road user be ignored?

Do your taxes pay for the roads? Mine pay for land claims.

[Swoop]

Pricks must be making a fortune from the fuel taxes.

I note that our dollar has not been in a stronger position for approx four years, yet the price of petrol has come down how much?????????

[James Deuce]

Pricks must be making a fortune from the fuel taxes.

I note that our dollar has not been in a stronger position for approx four years, yet the price of petrol has come down how much?????????

Price adjustment that brings into line with what it should have been YEEEAAARRSS ago.

Fuel companies have been doing us a huge favour and making no money for YEEEAAARRSS.

[Swoop]

Fuel companies have been doing us a huge favour and making no money for YEEEAAARRSS.

Simply beause they have to change the insides of their stations every 18 months to two years. They wear out soooooo fast these days.
I notice shell has changed their signs from yellow to white and included electronic displays... Their goes their profits for the next year or so....
Why do I feel like having a Tui beer right about now?

[Paul in NZ]

Because most of my bikes are a little technically challanged in the suspension dept (Although they do have one of those new fangled swinging arms at the back).... I have really noticed that the roads seem much rougher than when I was a lad - I thought it was just me getting older but apparently - thats just pary of the story..

[craigs288]

Im starting to think that it is all part of the concerted effort to reduce congestion on our roads.
Surely if the roads are bad enough it will damage lots of cars and bikes and therefore less people and vehicles on the road.
The council/government save money by not fixing the roads in the first place, then they save again when less people use the roads meaning a longer time before they have to do anything.
Myself personally, I like weaving wildly around the road avoiding craters as they open up in front of me.
Nothing better than jumping and leaping my GS1200 over every bump, hump and ripple in the tarseal, however Im not so keen on the unsignposted roadworks. If Im going to be two wheel sliding through fine gravel on a corner of some tarsealed road, I would like it to be because I deliberately chose to do it, not because mid-corner I suddenly realise it is happening and have to perform evasive manouvers to stay alive and upright.

[sunhuntin]

yep... they do it in towns as well. one road is being dug up for the second time this year, because the first time they did it, all manholes were raised about 20cm above the road... this includes fire hydrant covers, manhole covers, and whatever covers they have. bloody shit road... two blocks, and quite a few covers.

one road i go down is a main road.... if you sit to the left of the lane, as you go down a slight downhill, its like riding on corrugated iron. first time i thought the bike was falling to bits! the right side is the same... bloody horrible!