How many times recently have you heard people complaining about the state of the roads around New Zealand? About the ridiculous speed limits (too high or too low), the loose gravel which flicks up and damages the windscreen, and the potholes which, if you listen to some, swallowed their vehicle whole before closing over them.
Most of these mutterings are about the state highway network, administered by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, rather than the local roads, which are the responsibility of district and city councils. That is because it is on the highways where we travel the furthest and the fastest, and are therefore most exposed to any flaws in the network.
Having great roads is just another of those things in life which we take for granted. Like many pieces of vital infrastructure, we rarely give it a thought if it’s working well. But when there are traffic snarl-ups, or diversions, or roadworks, that’s a different matter.
But are our state highways really in a much worse condition than those in Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, or the United States?
It’s possible but not necessarily the case, given the far higher volumes of traffic in those countries and also their exposure to bigger extremes of road-damaging heat and cold.
There may be a perception that all the main roads in those countries are much smoother and better maintained than here. Certainly, if you compare their motorways and freeways and autobahns with some of our state highways that is probably the case. But if you consider similar roads, such as the A and B roads in Britain, they can be in a far worse state than our state highways. After a particularly wet or snowy winter they are often pockmarked with potholes and cracks.
It also prompted a call from the New Zealand Automobile Association for the roads to be "fixed", with spokesman Dylan Thomsen saying the Government had estimated $900 million was needed in the next three years to repair the network and that the roads "are in the worst condition that many people have ever seen".
Those strips of bitumen and chip seal laid across the contours of our country are one of New Zealand’s most valuable assets. In June 2020 they were valued at $52.2 billion, according to Waka Kotahi.
The 11,000km of state highways — about 5000km of that in the South Island — link to about 83,000km of roads looked after by local authorities. Between the two networks, they allow millions of Kiwis to go about their business and connect with families, and for vital goods to reach all corners of the country.
Potholes are no joke — despite the West Coast talkback caller who said she calls her husband "pothole" because he’s always in the road.
The increasing frequency and severity of heavy rainstorms, especially flooding, slips and swollen rivers, is causing Waka Kotahi all sorts of headaches with its budgeting. RNZ recently reported that the agency was in a "$600 million hole" and having to cut spending on some projects to ensure it could, among other things, still carry out emergency roading repairs.
Waka Kotahi cannot be blamed for tweaking budgets and rethinking its priorities to ensure it has enough money to cope with the next significant weather event, major earthquake or landslip.
Delaying urgent maintenance on state highways would be in nobody’s best interests if New Zealand is to keep running.
