Auckland Transport is keeping its promises. In the five weeks since AT announced their commitment to fill potholes fast, 785 potholes have been filled with 95% of these being completed within the response time targets.

Chair of Auckland Council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee, Councillor Andy Baker says the figures show that there’s a lot happening behind the scenes and on the front lines on Auckland’s road network to keep the city moving.

“I’m really proud of AT and the team of contractors who have stepped up to deliver on AT’s promise to ensure potholes are fixed quickly and improve levels of service for road users,” he says.

The pothole promise is to repair 95% of potholes within 24 hours of notification on AT’s busiest roads, which is the same target the NZ Transport Agency recently committed to meet on state highways.

The 24 hour response time applies to AT’s arterial and regional road network – the main traffic routes – which comprise 1,400 km of sealed roads across the Auckland region, most of which carry more than 10,000 vehicles per day.

The promise also sets a five working day response time for all other sealed roads.

Auckland Transport’s Group Manager for Road Asset Maintenance and Renewals, Alan Wallace says there’s been positive feedback from people who have reported potholes to us since we launched the new response targets.

“Our contractors have done a great job and demonstrated their commitment to maintaining the network as best we can,” he says.

Over 50 percent of the potholes fixed in the past five weeks have been in the Franklin, Waitakere and Albany areas.

These areas all have roads lined up for more substantial works this summer – often in the form of resealing the road, or in more extreme cases, rebuilding the road from the base up.

Called the Summer Road Reno, AT’s commitment is to reseal or rehabilitate more than 410 km of sealed roads in the 2024/25 year. This is the equivalent distance of Auckland to Tauranga and back.

“Last year we renewed 6.1% by area of our sealed road network and this year we intend to increase this to 6.5% with further increases in 2025/26 and 2026/27. We have made an excellent start this year and have delivered over 40% of the programme to date.

“We have received an increased level of funding for road maintenance from the NZ Transport Agency and Auckland Council which will mean that we can carry out more work on the road network and improve everyone’s experience on our roads over the next three years,” he says.

The Summer Road Reno also includes the strengthening of 30 km of unsealed roads this summer.

About Auckland Transport (AT):

AT’s mission is to care for, enable and deliver an effective, efficient and safe transport system that contributes to a more thriving and sustainable Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and unlocks our potential as a city.

We do this by listening and responding to needs of our customers and communities, bringing players together to take a whole of system view and putting people and places at the heart of how we design and deliver our transport system.

Auckland Transport works to the direction of Auckland Council and central Government through several policies and long-term plans to guide the way the transport system is developed. This helps keep us on track and determines our funding priorities.

© Scoop Media