Hamilton City Council will kick off its $5.7 million road resealing programme from 9 January next year.
While most construction activity shuts down during the Christmas break, Council will spend a few weeks resealing 50 roads across Hamilton, a process that requires warm, dry weather for the best results.
City Transportation Unit Director, Gordon Naidoo said the summer resealing programme was an essential part of keeping roads in a safe condition.
“We reseal roads when their surfaces start to lose their waterproofing and grip qualities. You need good surface grip on the road so cars keep their traction and don’t slide around. The road needs to be waterproof too otherwise it starts to breakdown with age and that means potholes,” said Mr Naidoo.
“You might think it looks fine, but if we’re resealing your road it means we’ve noticed issues that need to be addressed sooner rather than later. It costs a lot less to do a reseal before bigger problems show up.
“If there are any structural problems we like to fix them now so that we can hit the ground running with the reseals in January. It’s a bit like prepping the surface of your house before you paint it and means we spend less time in each street over the summer.”
He says that resealing protects and extends the life of a road.
“No matter how you’re travelling, the road needs to be in good condition. Safe travel is one of the big focuses of Council’s Access Hamilton: Ara Kootuitui Kirikiriroa transport strategy, and resealing is an essential part of maintaining safe connections throughout the city.”
Council has a target of zero deaths on Hamilton roads, in line with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s Road to Zero road safety strategy.
Due to start on 9 January 2023, the reseal programme will cost $5.7 million, with 51% funded by the Transport Agency through its maintenance and renewal programme.
