Maintenance renewal programme

You can use this map to see the locations of our confirmed maintenance renewal work in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula within this programme year (July 2024 to  June 2025) and the next programme year (July 2025 to June 2026).

In the near future, this map will also show the programmed works for kerb and channel maintenance renewals.

This information was developed for the Long Term Plan 2021–2031 and reflects the programme as of October 2024.

Please be aware that changes to the work may occur due to funding limits, or to respond to other reactive or urgent work.

We welcome feedback on these programmes via email to streetfeedback@ccc.govt.nz.

Hours of work

We usually work between 7am and 7pm. However, in busy areas or near businesses that might be affected, we may need to work outside these hours.

We have several requirements that must be met before we can approve night works. Residents will be informed before any night work begins.

We only send notification letters to properties on the worksite boundary. For everyone else, we use road signs and encourage people to check this webpage for updates.

Communications

If your street is scheduled for work, you should receive a letter at least 10 days in advance. The letter will include:

• The contact phone number of the person managing the work.
• A QR code linking to this webpage, which provides more information about the types of work we do.

We aim to complete work efficiently, so if there are delays it’s likely due to unexpected issues. Our contractors will keep you updated.

Weather significantly impacts our work:

• Cold weather affects the stone chip sticking to the bitumen (tar).
• Rain can cause fresh bitumen to run off.
• Hot weather can prevent the new surface from cooling properly. This can cause some chip ‘roll-over’ where the chip gets black, but this usually wears off with normal tyre use.

We work hard to take weather conditions into account, and the likelihood of these issues arising is low.

Access during working hours

There may be limited access to and from your driveway while work is being carried out. If you have any special requirements for access to your property our contractors can usually accommodate these, when informed in advance. This could include medical visits, large deliveries, home help and any planned works. Please contact the number listed on your letterbox-drop letter.

Signs, speed restrictions, cones and/or traffic controllers will be used to guide and manage people using the road while work occurs in the area. Please follow all signage and instructions as they they’re provided to keep everyone safe while we work.

Avoiding vehicle damage

We use temporary speed restrictions to ensure the safety of our crews and people who use the road we’re working on. Sometimes we’ll leave speed restrictions in place after work is done as a way to reduce damage to road surfaces and vehicles.

Driving within the speed limit is the best way to prevent vehicle damage. If you see people speeding, please report it to NZ Police. If you notice any damage to your property please contact your insurer first, then the person whose details are in the letter drop.

Loose chip after works and road repair quality

After a new chipseal surface is laid, some loose chip is expected during the first week. Contractors will schedule sweeper trucks to remove excess chips. Early in winter, as ground temperatures drop, new seals may lose chips as the bitumen hardens. This is normal, and additional sweeping will be planned as needed.

We’ve done a lot of work over the past few years to introduce new products and strategies to minimise loose chips, which have been successful. Occasionally, contractor work may have quality issues and fail. While this can be frustrating, we have a clear audit process and we work closely with contractors to fix these issues. ‘Rework’ due to contractor workmanship is prioritised and not paid for by the Council.

Maintenance road resurfacing

We follow an industry-wide approach to choose the most effective way to surface roads. We use a process flowchart that helps us consider factors like how many vehicles use the road, its current condition and the existing surface. This often results in several choices and helps us to find the best option. We base our final decision on a balance of safety, long-term costs, and the budget we have available.

To spend ratepayers' money wisely, we first look for the cheapest solution that still works well. We also check the road’s strength, shape, texture, and how waterproof it is. For roads with fewer than 15,000 cars a day and under 400 heavy vehicles, we usually recommend chipseal.

Before resurfacing, we carry out 'pre-seal' repairs on streets to fix small issues and improve drainage. We often complete these repairs up to a year before the resurfacing to ensure the road is safe and provides good value for the community in the meantime.

Types of road resurfacing

• Chipseal involves spraying a dark liquid (known as a binder) on the road and spreading chip to create a strong surface. Larger chip is used for commercial and heavy vehicle routes, while smaller chip suits residential areas as it minimises noise.

We typically use chipseal surfaces because they are safer for road users, are easy to construct and are cheaper. The texture of a chipseal surface provides greater skid resistance, improves surface grip and reduces the length of time it takes to stop when braking in an emergency. The chipseal surface also improves how waterproof the road is, which preserves the foundation and prevents the road from deforming.

• Asphalt is used when it's the most suitable option for a road or footpath, despite the higher costs involved. We consider things like the need for a smoother surface, improved user experience, or where we have lots of vehicle movement. We use thin asphalt mixes with various stone sizes as a good way to surface pavements.

As with chipseal, we have different types of mixes available for different purposes. Some are designed to allow water to flow through (porous asphalt), while others are designed to be fully waterproof. The main difference between asphalt and chipseal is that asphalt leaves a smoother road surface, but it’s 5-6 times more expensive than a chipseal surface.

• Rejuvenation is a process where we spray binder over an existing road, but don’t apply any chip. As a road ages, the surface becomes brittle and cracks, so we use rejuvenators to liven up aged surfaces, fill in minor cracks and make it waterproof again. Think of it as collagen for roads.

We can’t use rejuvenation in all situations, but we’ve used it over the past few years in low-speed, low-risk areas where the surface texture is suitable. This is a really cost-effective way to extend the lifetime of a road surface.

• Microsurfacing is a process where we spray a slightly thicker product embedded with very small stones or sand over an existing road surface.

This becomes the new surface for traffic to drive on and can be used on both chipseal and asphalt surfaces. Not only does it waterproof the existing surface and provide good surface grip, the binders we’re using provide extra strength to lock together the surface and resist the significant pressure that’s created when heavier vehicles turn on the road.

Maintenance road strengthening

This work is more extensive, invasive and expensive than road resurfacing, as it can require digging up and replacing all of the layers of the road. This work can be complex because it requires working with all of the layers under the road. These layers include the base course, sub-base, several sub-grade layers and then the natural ground. These layers can differ a lot, depending on where we’re working.

We only add strength to a road when the costs to maintain it become too high and it’s considered more cost-effective to rebuild the whole road. We've recently added strength to roads where more structural support has been needed to accommodate the additional weight, acceleration and braking forces of electric buses. 

In chipseal roads you can expect to see another chipseal surface applied about a year after the first surface is laid. This ensures the road is fully waterproof and will meet the lifetime we expect for roads. On asphalt roads, the surface is considered fully waterproof as soon as it’s applied to the road.

Maintenance footpath resurfacing

This involves the old surface being removed and may also require minor work to ensure any water that lands on the footpath falls toward the road. We then lay the new surface.

Around Christchurch you can expect to see a few different surface materials used, the majority of which will be either asphalt, or concrete. We use concrete in areas where trees continue to cause damage to the footpaths due to constant movement. In these situations, we install hinges in the footpath that allow it to move vertically with the trees, which means the footpath stays safe and easy to walk on and doesn’t cause tripping hazards.

We often renew footpaths that have a vehicle crossing running through it. Sometimes we’ll need to renew the vehicle crossing at the same time as the footpath to make sure it meets our Construction Standard Specifications (CSS). If there’s no footpath running through a vehicle crossing, they're considered to be private property and are not maintained by Council.

Maintenance kerb and channel renewal

This work involves removing and replacing the existing kerb and flat channel (gutter) to make sure water can flow to the nearest roadside drain. This doesn’t include renewing dish channel (the older style of gutter) and changing it to the newer style of flat channel, as those projects are managed by another team within the Council’s transport unit.

Most of the kerb and channel we replace is because water is not flowing well to the nearest roadside drain. This is why you may see such long lengths being replaced along the road.

Council staff and engineers assess a number of factors and apply this across the whole Christchurch roading network. Council has limited funding to ensure rates are affordable and this requires the work to be prioritised.

To create a priority list, the roading network is assessed on condition, importance, previous maintenance costs, safety risks, and vehicle use (type and frequency). Other work programmes are also considered e.g. water supply or sewer pipe works to reduce the risk of the new road being dug up.

The programme for the year is determined by how many of the highest priority sites are able to be remediated within the available budget. At times road works will be delayed due to programme clashes. We understand that these delays can be frustrating but digging up a newly constructed road is inefficient/expensive.

Our annual maintenance programme

We use data from previous years to plan the delivery of our seasonal work. Our regular maintenance programme ensures our roading infrastructure is safe, easy to use and reliable for everyone to travel on.

Between July 2023 and May 2024

Resurfacing

Footpaths

Potholes

Leaf fall