File image. Photo: 123rf
Auckland Transport says it will repair potholes on major roads within 24 hours - most of the time.
It has launched a new push to repair potholes faster, expecting crews to make repairs on Auckland's busiest roads within 24 hours, 95 percent of the time.
Smaller local roads can expect repairs within five days.
Group manager for road maintenance Alan Wallace said major roads in Auckland are highly used, with the busiest 1000km of road carrying 10,000 vehicles a day.
"It's about 1400km that we would call our regional and district arterial roads, so they're the main spines that we have across the network. It's the Fanshaw streets, it's the Lake roads, it's the Onewa roads, those main roads."
He said potholes are particularly bad in Auckland because the cities growth has put pressure on the roading network, with roads designed to take 5000 vehicles a day now taking over 10,000, increasing the rate of wear and tear.
He said changing conditions, such as weather, mean achieving repairs within 24 hours 100 percent of the time is not achievable.
"This is work we've always done, but we are putting more resources into making sure we can do it quicker and more reliably for our customers."
The "pothole promise" follows the focus on maintenance approach taken by the government to state highways.
Earlier this year, Minister of Transport Simeon Brown announced a ring-fenced 'Pothole Prevention Fund', with $3.9 billion doing towards roading maintenance and upgrades.
"It is very consistent with the increased emphasis put on road maintenance by government, and by Auckland Council and the mayor. It means that we're putting more resources and a lot of focus on managing our existing network," Wallace said.
He said the commitment to repair relies on people reporting potholes when they see one.
Communities can report a pothole through the Auckland Transport website, using the 'report a problem' portal.
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