Winter conditions have an impact on roads

Harsh conditions in July have taken their toll on some of the Queenstown Lakes District roads.

The “freeze – thaw” cycle happens each winter but July had a run of unusually hard frosts and the level of damage on some roads was greater than the Council usually expected to see at this stage of the year, QLDC General Manager Infrastructure, Peter Hansby, said.

For safety, short stretches of the Glenorchy Road, Malaghans Road and the Cardrona Valley Road have speed restrictions where the road surface has deteriorated. Drivers would notice potholes, areas where the chip seal was wearing, and some changes in the shape of the road surface.

Mr Hansby said that the permanent repairs would commence once the roads had dried out but some work was being done immediately on a temporary basis for safety and to prevent damage to the pavement layer under the surface seal. This included filling potholes and levelling ruts. In other cases, the reduced speed limits would be sufficient in the meantime.

Unsealed roads were also affected by the freeze-thaw effect and most were too soft to be graded without damaging the road surface. A few roads were being graded where this could be done without compromising the underlying structure of the road.

“As conditions improve we will look to begin regular grading again, hopefully as early as next month,” Mr Hansby said.

ENDS

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