Date: 11 June 2026
Auckland Transport (AT) is in the final stages of delivering its largest ever annual road maintenance programme with over 480 kilometres (km) of Auckland’s roads having been repaired and resurfaced this financial year, helping Aucklanders and freight get to where they want to go safely and efficiently.
To date AT has completed 483km of resurfacing (comprising 104km of asphalt, 370km of chip seal and 9km of pavement rehabilitation) which is equivalent to driving from Auckland to Bulls (6 hours driving time).
GM Road Asset Maintenance & Renewals, Alan Wallace, says this is the biggest road renovation programme AT has ever delivered.
“Last year we achieved about 440km and this new record has been made possible due to the increased funding that Auckland Council and NZTA have provided for road maintenance in Auckland.
“Some of the more notable sites include Tamaki Drive, Dominion Road, Queen Street, Albany Highway, Glenfield Road, Hurstmere Road, Margan Avenue Roundabout, Lincoln Road, Great South Road (Takanini), Alfriston Road, Pakuranga Highway, Old North Road and Whitford Maraetai Road”, says Wallace.
“Much of this work has been undertaken at night to minimise disruption for road users and maximise productivity so we can make our funding go further and help keep our city moving.
“I want to say thank you to our teams and suppliers for their commitment and dedication in delivering this huge programme of work. I also want to thank road users for their tolerance and care when driving through our work sites. We recognise that this work can cause disruption, but we ask that motorists obey the temporary speed limits and treat road workers with courtesy and respect.”
Over the last three years AT has been steadily ramping up the size of this programme and next year, as part of Auckland Council, intends to do more again. The Auckland road network comprises 7,000km of sealed roads and to keep up with its maintenance needs, 8-9% (525-575km) of the network needs to be resurfaced each year.
To preserve Auckland’s road network, it is essential that sealed roads are resurfaced when required to keep the surface waterproof and restore skid resistance. Bitumen oxidizes over time and cracks, which allows water to penetrate the surface and enter the underlying road pavement.
“If this occurs then it can cause potholes and much more costly pavement repairs”, says Wallace.
“Resurfacing a road is like painting your house. It’s best done before it deteriorates too much, because leaving it too long can turn it into a much bigger and costly job.”
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