Auckland Transport (AT) is on track to complete its biggest annual road maintenance programme in seven years, cracking down on potholes in New Zealand's largest city.
AT has so far resurfaced 385km of sealed roads - that's 3,376,000sqkm of road, or the equivalent of 34 sports stadiums like Eden Park.
By the end of June, 400km of roads will be completed in AT's Summer Road Reno project.
The 21 roads being worked on are:
- Lincoln Rd, Henderson
- Remuera Rd, Remuera
- New North Rd, Mount Albert
- Saint Andrews Rd, Epsom
- Khyber Pass Rd, Newmarket
- Mahurangi East Rd, Mahurangi
- Old North Rd, Kumeu
- Kahikatea Flat Rd, Dairy Flat
- Coastesville Riverhead Highway, Coastesville
- Whangaparaoa Rd, Whangaparaoa
- Shakespeare Rd, Takapuna
- Waiuku Rd, Waiuku
- Alfriston-Ardmore Rd, Manurewa
- Glenbrook Rd, Glenbrook
- Weymouth Rd, Manurewa
- Ormiston Rd, Howick
- East Tamaki Rd, Manurewa
- Waitakere Rd, Swanson
- Titirangi Rd, Titirangi
- Rosebank Rd, Avondale
- North Rd, Clevedon
Meanwhile, AT has also strengthened 46km of unsealed roads that needed attention and completed 51km of footpaths comprising an area of over 77,000sqkm - about 7700 driveways, the agency reckons.
The bulk of the work has been done over the summer season, with the warm and dry weather conditions needed for road resurfacing.
"We put in extra effort and resources this summer season to catch up on a growing backlog of road maintenance, which has been exacerbated by reduced funding and extreme weather," AT infrastructure and place director Murray Burt said in a statement.
"We've resurfaced 385km of roads so far, which is further than the distance between Auckland and New Plymouth. It's the most we've done in seven years and we've had a lot of budget constraints since then.
"There's still a lot more to do if we had the resources but the Summer Road Reno has been a great success, with more Aucklanders now being able to enjoy quality, safe roads.
"We're really thankful for the patience that many road users have shown to our hardworking crews during this huge programme of work."
More than 750 crew members have been working across the Auckland region on programme.
While some jobs have been small, others have come with unique challenges, Burt said.
"One example he gave was Lincoln Rd in Henderson, where almost half a kilometre of the road needed rehabilitation. The five-lane road services a main hospital and is a key transport route in West Auckland.
"The crew did a fantastic job, laying 360 truckloads of asphalt and getting the job done three weeks ahead of schedule, which was a great outcome for everyone. The road was able to fully open earlier than anticipated meaning less disruption for West Auckland communities."
By the end of its annual maintenance programme, AT also aims to have renewed 60km of footpaths and it has already exceeded its target to strengthen 40km of unsealed roads.
Meanwhile, AT is also continuing its flood recovery programme, working on hundreds of sites that were impacted by the extreme weather events last year.
