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Southland’s extensive roading network faces a “tipping point” in some areas as funding issues mount, the district mayor has warned.
Details were captured in a pointed letter from Southland District Mayor Rob Scott to NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) chairman Simon Bridges in which Mr Scott questioned the agency’s funding model and raised concerns about southern road users unfairly funding other areas.
Mr Scott said NZTA’s current funding assistance rate of 55% did not reflect the network’s realities; highlighting footpath rehabilitation, ageing drainage, bridge renewals and climate-related challenges.
“The level of deferred renewal demand is becoming increasingly difficult to manage, and we believe parts of the network are approaching a tipping point.”
Crunching the numbers, he said the council’s request for about $147 million during the previous funding round had been met with a grant of only $124m, despite $174m actually being required to maintain the network.
About $229mwould likely be needed over the next three years, Mr Scott said.
“With rates capping on the horizon and the underlying cost pressures continuing to intensify, our ability to sustainably maintain the network is becoming increasingly constrained, and this is compounding.”
Mr Scott also took umbrage with what he saw as a low return on investment from fuel-excise duties and road-user charges in the south.
He said the region’s network generated national transport revenue while the community carried an unfair share of the infrastructure’s maintenance cost.
The issue was not about funding expansion, but whether Southland could maintain what it already had without further decline, he said.
Mr Scott concluded his letter by requesting a meeting with the NZTA board.
In response to questions, an NZTA spokesperson confirmed the letter had been received by the chairman.
“The board will respond directly to the mayor to address these concerns,” they said.
Mr Scott’s letter, dated July 15, was included in a Southland District Council agenda for a meeting on Wednesday.
Southland was home to more than 1000 bridges and about 5000km of roads, of which about 3000 were unsealed, he wrote.
West Coast regional transport committee chair Peter Ewen this year revealed he had quit his role after 15 years due to growing frustrations with NZTA.
Mr Ewen said transportation funding was prioritised in urban areas like Auckland, and NZTA was not completing work unless it was absolutely necessary.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.