Upgraded road resealing contract heeds community's concerns

The North Shore City Council this week has approved a $2.84 million extension to its existing contract covering the resealing of the city's roads over the next financial year (July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004), incorporating the city's new road resealing policy.

The new policy - announced late last year following extensive consultation - heeds the community's concerns about noise, loose stone chips and standards of workmanship.

Chip seal (graded loose stone chips spread over hot bitumen and rolled into place) will be used on most roads and hot mix (pre-made bitumen and aggregate mixture, laid at high temperature by a paving machine as smooth, black asphalt) on high stress areas, commercial and recreational roads and main roads carrying high volumes of traffic.

The council's works and environment committee chairperson, Joel Cayford, says the annual expense of the work has risen $2.84 million, or 28 per cent, because of significant increases in the cost of bitumen, which will be used more extensively as a result of the policy change.

Councillor Cayford says new measures will be implemented to ensure a higher standard of sweeping and clean up after the work is complete.

"We will have supervisors on site during resealing to make sure contractors stick to the letter of their council contracts, " he says.

The council will also implement a higher level of field supervision, and any public complaints received will be dealt with on the same day they are received.

North Shore City Council maintains a growing roading network now measuring 636 kilometres and it reseals about 10 per cent of that every year.

* The 2003/04 financial year covers the period July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004.

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