Opinion divided on new roading stones

JULIA WADE

With roading being a contentious issue in many Kaipara communities, residents along the newly-applied roads including Settlement, Bagnal, Browns and Pebblebrook, appear in general favour of the new application, saying it lasts well, and makes for a smoother, more solid surface.

One Settlement Rd resident noticed the reduction in dust clouds created by passing vehicles in the dry summer months, while another whose car suffered major diff damage totalling nearly $5000 after hitting a huge pothole just days before the latest grading, says the new roading ‘is great’ and says the treatment spray applied before Northern Bass kept the dust down.

However, residents also comment that some of the road’s surface is almost back to the same state before the recent grading, ‘potholes beginning to present themselves again’, ‘will need regrading in a week’s time to keep the contour good… the underlying weakness is still there’.

A Bagnal Rd resident says during the week of the road being fixed it was ‘very wet and muddy and wasn’t very safe’, however once dry says it was good, very smooth. However, after a big storm, the new stones were washed off the road, blocking the drains which they have cleared themselves after no response from the council, ‘at our own cost’.

“When the road is wet it’s back to being a muddy mess and we question how long this fix will really last,” says the resident. “The council is trying to find new solutions but Bagnal Road now has multiple commercial businesses operating on it and truly believe the best outcome for everyone would be to finally tarseal the road.”

A former Hoanga Rd, Dargaville, resident said the road used to be ‘shocking’, with the loose metal, potholes, ruts, corrugations causing a number of punctures, but on visiting recently says the new firm roading has been ‘a revelation’, with no loose metal and little dust: “Very little maintenance though still gets school bus, cattle trucks and milk tankers along daily. It’s a great innovation as long as Mangawhai will give it a go.”