Improving the unsealed road network

How we prioritise road sealing

We manage and maintain about 7,800km of roads. Around 800km of these are unsealed gravel roads, which are mostly found in rural areas with low populations.

Around 80% of Auckland’s gravel roads are within the Rodney area. The remaining 20% are located mainly in Franklin, Great Barrier Island, Waiheke Island and Waitākere.

Due to limited funding available for sealing unsealed roads, we developed a revised prioritisation process for unsealed road improvements.

This was created in 2020 after consultation with the affected Auckland Council local boards.

Unsealed roads are assessed to identify the road issues and then a range of appropriate treatments may be applied to address these issues.

Road sealing remains part of the solution, however this is only one of several options considered. Using a wider range of solutions means we can improve more roads each year.

We prioritise roads with higher traffic volumes and those with a higher strategic function, such as connecting places.

The decision-making process involves assessing the strategic role of each road and volume of traffic going through that road.

Then we assess each road quantitatively and qualitatively based on a multi-criteria analysis.

This includes:

• • safety — looking at road gradient and crash data
  • public health — checking how close homes and amenities are
  • natural environment — considering sensitive areas nearby
  • climate change — assessing risks from heavy rain and dry periods
  • cost — choosing the most cost-effective option for the road’s full life cycle within the available budget.

We set the priority order based on the scores each road receives during assessment.

As part of this, we will take into consideration any relevant local board plans or area plans that may help influence our decisions.

The prioritisation is updated every 3 years to align with Auckland Council’s funding requirements.

To view more information about how we prioritise which roads to work on you can download the 2025/26 to 2026/27 Unsealed Roads Improvement Programme (PDF, 101KB).

Road treatment options

The new approach also allows for a broad range of treatment options, rather than defaulting to a full seal.

This includes:

• surface strengthening
• road widening
• safety improvements
• pothole, corrugation and drainage improvements
• road sealing.

We assess each road and choose a treatment based on the main issue affecting the road. If there are several issues, we select the highest-rated treatment option. If needed, we will seal the road.

Each road is ranked based on the type of treatment it needs, and funding is assigned according to these priorities within each treatment group.

We will work with local boards to make sure that the proposed treatment is suitable for the unsealed road.

Download the Unsealed Roads Improvement decision-making process (PDF, 598KB).

Maintenance for unsealed roads

Unsealed roads which are not on the current prioritisation list will continue to be maintained. Maintenance includes:

• regular grading of road surface
• clearing surface water channels
• re-metalling of the road surface when needed.

If you have any concerns regarding maintenance of unsealed roads or observe any faults on an unsealed road which requires maintenance, contact us.

Funding for this programme

Funding for unsealed road improvements, including road sealing, is provided by Auckland Council, which is outlined in the Council’s Long-Term Plan (LTP).  

Check out the current 2025 to 2034 LTP on the Auckland Council website.

Auckland Council has recently approved the 2025 to 2034 LTP funding, including funding for the 2025 to 2027 Unsealed Road Improvement Programme.

AT funding is approved in 3-year cycles. A 3-year Unsealed Road Improvement Programme is prepared based on the available funding.

Based on these funding requirements, roads that do not appear on the programme of unsealed improvements cannot be scheduled for improvement works at this time.