Harsh conditions this winter have taken their toll on some roads in the Queenstown Lakes District and work is being done immediately to make them safer, the council says.
The "freeze-thaw" cycle happens each winter, but July had a run of unusually hard frosts and the amount of damage was greater than the council expected to see at this stage of the year, its general manager infrastructure, Peter Hansby, said today.
There are speed restrictions in place on short stretches of Glenorchy Rd, Malaghans Rd and the Cardrona Valley Rd where the road surface has deteriorated.
Drivers would notice potholes, areas where the chip seal was wearing and some changes in the shape of the road surface.
Mr Hansby said permanent repairs would begin once the roads had dried out.
However, some work was being done immediately on a temporary basis for safety and to prevent damage to the pavement layer under the surface seal.
This included filling potholes and levelling ruts. In other cases, the reduced speed limits would be sufficient in the meantime, he said.
Unsealed roads were also affected by the freeze-thaw effect, and most were too soft to be graded without damaging the surface. A few roads were being graded where this could be done without compromising the underlying structure of the road, Mr Hansby said.
"As conditions improve we will look to begin regular grading again, hopefully as early as next month."
