In late December we reported that a Waikato District Council contractor had fixed the tar mound in Bankart Street, Raglan deploying a specialist team with specialist equipment. The repair was done to high standard and I described it as, ‘permanent’. Since then the Council has advised that the repair may not be a permanent fix.
A Council spokesperson advised, “I note in the article that it’s been described as a permanent fix to the tar mound in Bankart Street. The work was completed on Sunday 20th December but the crew has made us aware the repair is unlikely to last more than a few months. This is because of the highly sensitive soils below the surface so we’ll need to monitor the site and intervene as and when required.”
It is surprising to learn that the soils under the roundabout are highly sensitive. From what I recall from 2006 when Bankart Street was given an urban upgrade and the roundabouts built, the road corridor was excavated to a depth of about 3 metres, covered with a special foundation fabric, then rebuilt with an engineered foundation by Fulton Hogan. Underneath the engineered foundation, this is an old reclaimed swamp and it is difficult to build a stable road on a swamp. Personally I am very pleased with the repair work that the contractor did.
Just along from the roundabout where the work was done in December at 2 Wainui Road is a large area that is breaking up. It would be good if the next time that WDC deploys a specialist team with specialist equipment in Raglan, that it repairs this defect before it turns into a huge pothole. I have today lodged a service request for this issue with WDC.