The first big roading job of the new year begins in early September, when 3.16km of Arundel Rakaia Gorge Road and 800m of Ashburton Staveley Road are rehabilitated.

Work over four sites will cost around $1.2 million and is prior to other rehabilitation work on Barford Road, Forks Road, Mayfield Valetta Road and Thompsons Track.

A detour will be in place on Arundel Rakaia Gorge Road, from Lochheads Road to Tramway Road, from 5 September until 9 November, on weekdays from 6.30am until 7pm. Contractors who are reconstructing the road are advising motorists to allow additional time for their journey using the detour route.

Council Infrastructure Services Group Manager Neil McCann said a total of $3.7m would be spent in the next 12 months on rehabilitating damaged roads on the network.

“The roads chosen have been identified by our roading engineers as top priority, based on their condition and the number of failures reported on them.

“We plan to rehabilitate 37km of sealed roads in the next three years, and another 23km in the following three years. Our roading network is continuously being assessed to make sure the worst roads are fixed first, given the limited money and resources we have available.”

Mr McCann said that sections of Arundel Rakaia Gorge Road and Ashburton Staveley Road were at the end of their life and need to be renewed.

“They have taken a beating by the large volume of traffic that has used them over their lifetime.”

The work will involve digging out the failed sections of road and replacing them with strong river gravel, followed by building a new road on top with gravel to a depth of 100-150mm, and then chip seal. Fulton Hogan has been awarded the contract for this work.

Two of the four sites between Mt Somers and Staveley should be finished around the start of November, with all four sites planned to be complete by Christmas, weather permitting.

“Once the road construction is complete, the roads should only require minor maintenance and reseals for the next 25 years,” Mr McCann said.