Trucking industry says it’s not to blame for pothole plague

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Potholes in Northland. Photo: Facebook/Northland Potholes

Trucking advocates reject the government’s claim that massive vehicles introduced to New Zealand roads just over a decade ago are partly responsible for the subsequent rise in pothole reports.

In the first 10 months of 2022, 555 complaints of vehicle damage caused by potholes were reported in Waka Kotahi, compared to 421 in 2021, an increase of about 58%.

In 2020, there were only 298 complaints.

“It shows how Kiwis have been feeling on the roads for a while, but I think there would be a lot more people over the summer who had that experience with potholes,” said Nick Leggett, managing director of Ia Ara Aotearoa, to Morning Report.

“Obviously it’s expensive, it delays travel and it’s also a security issue. It’s concerning because we have the ‘path to zero’ in the background, and that’s just another area where the government is not achieving these goals.”

Ahead of the summer recess, National Transport Party spokesman Simeon Brown regularly tweeted photos and reports of potholes, prompting a long series of tweets in response from Transport Minister Michael Wood .

Wood unearthed a number of alleged causes, including a road maintenance freeze under the previous National government, an “extremely wet winter” and National’s decision in 2010 to allow 50MAX trucks – which can weigh up to to 50 tons – on some roads.

Wood said these “heavier trucks do a lot more damage” due to what is called the “Law of the Fourth Power”. Basically, the more weight each axle of a vehicle has to carry, the more road damage increases exponentially, to the power of four – so an axle carrying 10 tons, for example, would put 10,000 times more stress on the road like one that carries a single ton.

Brown tweeted that Wood was “digging his own pothole”, saying Labor had years to fix the problem, but “all the Minister has is to blame the previous [government]”.

I think the minister is digging his own pothole.

Labor has been in power for six years and all the minister has is blaming the former government for the potholes on our roads.

Kiwis want our roads fixed, not excuses. https://t.co/vst2zWwWBk

Simeon Brown (@SimeonBrownMP) December 28, 2022

Leggett said Waka Kotahi’s website cites peer-reviewed studies on 50MAX trucks that prove, because of “the way their axles are configured, that they distribute weight evenly.”

“They’re no heavier on the road than any truck that’s been on the road before. It’s an easy and cheap hit, but it’s not one that’s backed by evidence.”

Bigger trucks also mean less travel, he said, leading to lower carbon emissions.

Nick Leggett. Photo: Facebook/Northland Potholes

A spokesman for the minister told RNZ that the government had increased its road maintenance budget by 50% to “help get our roads up to scratch”, and that over the next few years it would invest 7 billion dollars in the renewal of “approximately 7,000 kilometers of national highway lanes”. and 18,000 kilometers of local road lanes”.

“Last year, high volumes of rainfall affected both national highways and local roads, making it a very challenging environment, especially when it comes to potholes.

“In August, the Minister of Transport asked Waka Kotahi for assurances that there was a clear plan to communicate to the public the reasons why potholes were appearing on certain parts of the network, as well as the repair plan. .

“Contractors in Waka Kotahi nationwide have been working around the clock to deal with the impact of recent severe weather events on the state’s highway system.”

In the 2021/22 fiscal year, the spokesman said more than 45,000 potholes had been repaired on the state’s highways alone – and Waka Kotahi was “undertaking the largest never-before-seen state highway renewal program in the spring and summer.”

Leggett said that, however, highlights another problem.

“To be fair to the government, they’ve injected more money just when we have a labor shortage, which means it’s sometimes harder for contractors to get the job done,” he said. said Leggett. “But there’s so much work to do, it’s overwhelming.”

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