The recent asphalt resealing of a Whakatāne residential street has irked at least one Ōhope resident who wants the same smooth seal for his road.

Residents of the Ōhope Waterways subdivision this year unsuccessfully petitioned Whakatāne District Council to not reseal their smooth, asphalt street surface in cheaper chip seal.

In a report to a council committee in August, council staff provided price comparisons between asphalt and chip seal resurfacing, showing asphalt was 12-15 times more expensive.

The report showed that even when considering the shorter lifespan of chip seal, it was still a cheaper whole-of-life option over asphalt.

Just three weeks later, Waterways resident Chris Stone, who was one of the petitioners to the council, said he was concerned to discover that The Fairway, in the suburb of Mokorua Gorge, had just been overlaid with the more expensive material.

“They’ve done exactly what they said they can’t afford to do in this district,” he said.

Waterways resident Chris Stone has accepted that the quality asphalt surface of his street will soon be downgraded to chip seal but wonders why other streets get asphalt. Photo / LDR

“That means they knew at that time the report was presented to the committee, that they were going to be doing it on one of the streets in town. That was never mentioned at the meeting.”

Mokorua Gorge is about 9km from the coastal town of Ōhope.

The report stated asphalt was used on 3% of Whakatāne district’s sealed roads. It performed better than chip seal in high-stress environments such as motorways, urban arterials, busy intersections, roundabouts and cul-de-sac heads.

The council’s transportation manager Ann-Elise Reynolds said asphalt had been the cheapest whole-of-life option for The Fairway.

“While asphalt is generally more expensive than chip seal, the most long-term, cost-effective treatment depends on the particular conditions of each road.

“In the case of The Fairway, the road is narrow and steep, creating significant stresses on the surface from the turning movements, particularly at vehicle entrances along the street.”

Technical assessments determined that asphalt would provide the most durable and cost-effective long-term outcome for The Fairway, Reynolds said.

The Fairway, at Mokorua Gorge, received a new overlay of asphalt last week. Photo / Kathy Forsyth

“Chip seal treatment was considered, but the damage by these stresses results in higher whole-of-life costs over time.”

She said this was consistent with the discussion in the report, which noted that treatment decisions were based on site-specific conditions and whole-of-life value, rather than installation cost and existing surface type alone.

Stone said residential streets had sharp turns onto adjoining properties whether they were on a slope or not.

“Many streets, including Waterways have horizontal curve stress factors, hence the decision to reseal Waterways with two coats of chip seal as explained at the council meeting by staff,” he said.

He felt the approach was inconsistent and maintained the opinion that the policy should be that roads previously asphalted by developers deserved asphalt reseal or a rejuvenation treatment to preserve the high-value asset.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.