Council will smooth way for resident upset at road surface

Dunedin resident Lesley Chave is not happy at the cracked condition of Aberdeen Rd, but the Dunedin City Council says repairs are on the way. Photo: Gregor Richardson

Lesley Chave said he had complained to the Dunedin City Council about the state of Aberdeen Rd ''four or five times'' in the last year, but had not received a response.

In frustration, he contacted the Otago Daily Times this week, saying the road was so badly cracked it appeared to be ''on the move''.

''It's severely cracked all the way down, and no-one's doing anything about it.

''It's gotten worse ... but nothing's been done.''

In response, council transport delivery manager Josh von Pein said the road was due to be resealed in the next ''season'', which ran from October 2019 to March 2020.

In the meantime, temporary repairs would be carried out, he said.

''The asphalt surface on the road is cracking in places, which often happens over time, but we have no concerns about the stability of the road.''

Council staff had initially inspected the road in response to a call in mid-2018, but decided it was ''OK at that stage''.

Monitoring had continued since then, and work was now needed ''as the road's condition has deteriorated since our initial assessment''.

''The resealing has been programmed for the summer along with other roads around the city.''

Work would also be carried out at the Sutcliffe St intersection with Aberdeen Rd, to improve the way stormwater drains in the area, he added.

The drainage work was not connected to the state of the road surface, he said.