13 August 2009

Council raises concerns about proposed truck load increases

North Shore City Council has taken the opportunity to comment on proposed changes to the Land Transport Rule - Vehicle Dimensions and Mass. The rule change will potentially allow trucks to carry heavier and longer loads on New Zealand’s roads.

Following the Infrastructure and Environment Committee meeting on Tuesday 11 August, Chairman Ken McKay backed the council submission and agrees that further analysis is needed to fully understand the implications of the rule change. He notes that the proposed changes appear to have implications beyond what the government has considered.

“The proposed rule change looks at the issue in two dimensions – more weight in less trucks equals greater productivity. Without further analysis we won’t know the full impact of other affects of the changes such as road wear and road user safety,” says Cllr Ken McKay.

The council submission notes that the nature of New Zealand’s roads means comparisons with overseas situations can be misleading. New Zealand’s roads tend to have thin surfaces, granular pavements, weak subgrades and be located in hilly terrain. This makes them more susceptible to deterioration from an increase in traffic loading. This is particularly important for our local roads which are more fragile and variable than state highways.

“There is little doubt that this increased loading on our local roads will lead to greater wear and tear – more ruts, potholes and cracks. It is local bodies that will bear the brunt of these extra road repair costs and no account has been made for this in the proposed rule change,” says Cllr McKay.

While the load increases appear small, the impact on road pavements will be much more significant. For example, an increase of just 10% in axle loads will increase the road wear by 47%.

The council submission notes that if these proposals go ahead without further research being done, the additional costs imposed on local authorities need to be acknowledged up front. A funding mechanism will need to be put in place to allow the local authorities to recover the increased cost of road maintenance.
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