The 120-strong DART team comprised Fulton Hogan staff, their subcontractors and Dunedin City Council staff, and was tasked with responding - at any time of the day or night - when floods, slips, snow or ice threatened the city's 1786km roading network.
The team was also responsible for the city's footpaths, signs, mud tanks, culverts and grass verges, among other jobs, as part of the council's rural and urban five-year, $50 million road maintenance contracts.
Yesterday's barbecue breakfast was a chance to thank the workers after four years of hard work, Mr Cull said.
"They get some extremely unpleasant jobs to do in all sorts of conditions and we want to make sure they get some thanks for tackling what can sometimes seem a thankless task," he said.
Fulton Hogan maintenance manager Dean Scott said the barbecue acknowledged the sacrifices made by his staff, together with the council's subcontractors and the workers' families.
"So much of what they do happens at times when the public just don't see them."
The contracts still had a year to run, but in future those doing the work would have DART branding on their vehicles to ensure they were clearly identifiable to members of the public, he said.
