Road resurfacing is the way we protect the foundations of our roads and prevent potholes. It makes getting around the city – by bike, vehicle or on foot – safer and easier.
Every year we resurface 4-5% of our roads with hot mix asphalt or chip seal. With a total of approximately 630km of road network, we resurface approx. 25-35km per annum. This is to ensure a safe surface for vehicles by providing texture and to protect the underlying road pavement layers by waterproofing.
We spend approximately $8 million each year on resurfacing roads. This is partly funded by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA). This funding partnership requires us to adhere to NZTA’s requirements for resealing roads.
Thank you
Our contractor will ensure any disruption is kept to a minimum. However, because of the nature of the work you may experience some minor delays and inconvenience. We thank you for your patience.
FAQs
The seal on a road is like paint on your house - it keeps water out of the structure underneath. Like paint, the seal breaks down over time and starts to let water in.
When the surface of a road starts to break down it is time to resurface. The ideal time to resurface is just before any easily visible damage occurs, so your road may still look to be in reasonable condition when we complete resurfacing.
Generally, roads are resurfaced with a chip seal except where the traffic volumes or pavement conditions justify otherwise. Roads that have previously have asphalt surfacing may be resealed with chip seal.
Since 2011/2012, hot mix (asphalt) on low volume local roads has been overlaid with chip seal instead of asphalt. The reason for this is primarily cost. Asphalt is approximately five times more expensive than chip seal. Asphalt is typically replaced with asphalt on main, arterial (high volume) roads or in areas with a high volume of vehicle turns.
The chip seal process
- Minor repairs are carried out prior to resealing.
- The contractor will contact residents and businesses in the street about a week before work begins.
- Hot bitumen is sprayed on the existing road surface and stone sealing chips are spread on the bitumen and rolled to bed the chips into the bitumen.
- Traffic is then allowed back onto the road. There will be a temporary speed limit in place and warning signs to advise motorists and to protect the new surface while it is ‘settling down’.
- After two or three days, excess chips are swept away and road marking repainted. Temporary traffic management will be removed at this time.
- As many as three additional sweeps may follow in the next six months as it is usual for some chip to come loose due to wear and temperature changes.
The asphalt surfacing process
- Minor repairs are carried out prior to resurfacing.
- The contractor will contact residents and businesses in the street about a week before work begins.
- The old asphalt surface is removed using a milling machine.
- New asphalt is laid. This work may be done at night as these are generally streets with high traffic volumes.
- Traffic is not permitted to travel over the new surface until it has cooled down. The contractor will advise when the road is ready for traffic.
- After 2-3 days line markings, traffic loops and special surfaces are reinstated.
- Temporary traffic management is removed.
In the lead-up to resurfacing, our contractors will deliver a letter about a week before work starts. This gives us a chance to consider any feedback and make changes if necessary. For instance – if you have an event planned on the day we intend to seal then we may be able to modify our plans to enable you to carry on with what you’ve planned.
We may also use electronic variable messaging boards (VMS signs) to inform drivers of the upcoming works.
When the work happens there will be trucks, rollers and workers using other equipment. Expect some dust and noise, particularly if we have to remove the top surface before the new seal goes on.
New chip seal can be damaged by a car’s power steering, particularly at driveway entrances. If you back out and turn the wheel while you are sitting in the same spot the stone chip will ‘screw’ off the bitumen and damage the road. The bitumen-covered chip can then be tracked into properties or stick to your shoes. To reduce the risk of damage, keep your vehicle moving before turning the wheel.
If bitumen covered chip is tracked onto your driveway you can remove it by spot cleaning with a little turpentine.
If your road is scheduled to be resurfaced, our contractor will advise you in advance of the works. When resurfacing is planned we ask you to park clear of the work area during working hours, which may include nights.
If vehicles are in the way on the day, they may be towed to a convenient parking spot nearby. After the work is completed, these are normally towed back to where they were found, or the nearest available park. If yours is not where you parked it, first check nearby streets before calling the contractor. The contractor’s contact details will be on your roadworks notice.
The workers will be doing everything possible to make sure this work is completed safely. You can help by:
- standing well back from any machinery and following any directions from the workers
- warning your children of the dangers and making sure they take care
- keeping pets away from the area while the work is in progress
- avoiding walking on recently sealed surfaces, so you don't track bitumen or sticky stones from the site. If you can’t avoid it, make sure you check your shoes or take them off before you go inside. You may also want to check them before you get into your car.
Typically each site takes one day to resurface, but things like road markings may take 3 or 4 days to reinstate. If it is necessary to first remove a layer of surfacing, the work may be spread over two or more days.
Surfacing work is very weather dependent. If rain is forecast the work may be postponed (even after letter drops have been undertaken) as the seal may fail if the surface is wet or rain occurs soon after surfacing.
Council’s has a resealing policy, which requires the level of service for road reseals to be “fit for purpose” with the type of surfacing used being finally determined by an engineering assessment.
In general, this means that roads that are category 1, 2 and 3 are sealed in asphalt and category 4 and 5 roads are sealed with chip seal.
The road categories are:
| Type of road |
Category |
Type of reseal |
| Commercial and Industrial. |
1A |
Asphalt |
| Tauranga City Centre, Mount Mainstreet area, and Greerton Village. |
1B |
Asphalt |
| Arterial roads. These are roads that carry significant volumes of traffic and link major state highways, urban and commercial areas. |
2 |
Asphalt |
| Collector roads. These are roads that carry moderate volumes of traffic and provide a connection between residential streets and the arterial network. Most collector roads in Tauranga have more than 10,000 vehicles use them a day. |
3 |
Asphalt or chip seal – an engineering decision will be made as to the appropriate surfacing type depending on road and traffic factors. |
| Neighbourhood roads with greater than 200 vehicles per day. |
4 |
Chip seal – except where there is a cul-de-sac head or an intersection with high wear and tear, or another valid engineering reason. |
| Neighbourhood roads with less than 200 vehicles per day. |
5 |
Chip seal – except where there is a cul-de-sac head or an intersection with high wear and tear, or another valid engineering reason. |
In special circumstances, exceptions to this policy may occur for engineering reasons.