Maintenance programmes

The Council performs regular maintenance on roads and footpaths including sealing and kerbside maintenance.

The Council aims to reduce the need for roading repairs by performing routine maintenance programmes throughout the city, including resealing the roads. As part of this, the Council produces an annual programme of scheduled roading repair work.

Road resealing

Current road works

The Council carries out a significant amount of work on your roads over the course of the year including:

  • Carriageway resurfacing and maintenance works
  • Footpath resurfacing and maintenance works
  • Kerb and channel replacement and maintenance works
  • Repairing bridges, roadside walls and seawalls

A number of other regular activities will also be carried out during the year including:

  • Street cleaning
  • Graffiti removal
  • Litter collection
  • Vegetation maintenance on banks 

Road works and road closures

Telling you when we are working

We will send you a letter to let you know when we will be working in your street. The letter will include information on when the contractor will arrive, how long the work should take, what you need to do to help us get the work done with minimal disruption, and contact numbers to communicate with the Council and the contractor.

How maintenance work is planned

The Council uses the following process to make sure all roads and footpaths are checked for necessary repairs:

  • Annual survey - a qualified engineer surveys the condition of all roads (except for private roads) and footpath in Wellington.
  • Computer analysis - road defects are analysed and a draft maintenance job list is created.
  • Verification - a roading engineer checks the information and decides on the best solution for each improvement project.
  • Scheduling - consultation with service authorities who regularly do their own utility works to make sure there are no potential conflicts.

Based on the factors above, and on the Council's budget, roads and footpaths are scheduled for maintenance.

Before we reseal

We will try to co-ordinate all repair work, including those planned by service authorities, to ensure that we don’t have to come back and dig your road up again. The work completed before we resurface your road includes:

  • Kerb and Channel replacement works to ensure efficient water run-off from the road and better storm water management.
  • Footpath replacement works to ensure that your footpaths are safe to walk on.
  • Minor repairs to the road structure and surface to ensure that the surface will last for the life of the seal.

Road treatment types

  • Chip sealing - for skid resistance and waterproofing road surfaces.
  • Slurry sealing - to fix irregular surface textures.
  • Asphalt paving - used on high-traffic roads or where roughness exceeds acceptable levels.
  • Crack sealing - prevents water from getting into cracks, and below road surfaces.

Unplanned works

From time to time we will carry out works on the roads that are not planned at the beginning of the year. Types of works include response to issues raise by the public, repair of minor defects like potholes, full drains etc., cleaning up after events like storms or slips and minor general maintenance activities.

Procurement and suppliers

The Council follows the NZ Transport Agency's (NZTA) procurement manual. 

Roading quick facts

The Council maintains:

  • 700km of road surface
  • 1070km of footpaths
  • over 25,000 traffic and street signs
  • over 18,000 street lights.

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