Rural road repair jobs under fire

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 648, 6 August 1996, Page 1

Rural road repair jobs under fire

Repairs to a road should not be carried out by the company that caused the damage in the first place, Waimarino Community Board member Gary Rawnsley asserted at the board' s August meeting. He said he believed Ruapehu Construction Limited (RCL) had carried out bad road maintenance practices on Crotons Road — crowning the road when it was too narrow to do so. Water run-off had eroded the steep drop off the road which cause a drop-out. RCL then had to cut into the toe of a hill, which subsequently slipped. "I am very concerned that nobody is learning," he said. He said RCL should not have been given the slip repair work, worth $19,747, as they had caused the damage. Mr Rawnsley said the road should be cambered so the run-off goes away from the drop where it is too narrow to crown it. Council roads asset manager Gerard Eckard said that practice could be dangerous for high trucks on some corners. Board members recommended that -I RCL' s "reported" road maintenance prac-

tices should be reviewed by Ruapehu District Council engineering staff, as well as the process of awarding repair contracts in such cases. Mr Rawnsley said he was concerned that the method of crowning narrow gravel roads such as Crotons Road would lead to other major problems in the rural areas. Board chairman Colin Webb said allowing 40-tonne trucks to use the road was a problem. "It's still just a dirt track." Mr Rawnsley said he was also concerned that RCL had carted metal into the valley when there was a good source of metal . already nearby . Apart from the cartage cost, he said the heavy truck loaded with gravel would have added to the damage on the road. Doug Bennett said the state of the whole road should be looked at, with a decision made as to whether the road should be kept open at all. "Perhaps the council would be better off buying up all the land and giving it to the national park," he said. "I'm not interested in that,sort of rubbish," countered Mr Rawnsley.