The first rubber road in New Zealand is being planned in the Selwyn District, Canterbury.
Selwyn's council is planning a rubber road surface trial in January in Glentunnel on State Highway 77, 40km inland from Rolleston.
The trial was mentioned at the councillor briefing on infrastructure and property last week, which included an overview of roading.
When asked for more details of the project, the council said it was "investigating the possibility of trialling this technology in Glentunnel" in the new year.
"This is in the early stages of investigation, and we will keep people informed when we have more details available."
Treadlite NZ is the only company providing the recycled rubber granules for use in pavements in New Zealand.
Executive director Brad Pierce confirmed it was working with a contractor – understood to be HEB, the council's roading contractor – to provide recycled rubber granules for a proposed trial.
"I’m excited to see recycled rubber improving the performance of New Zealand roads across the country in the very near future," he said.
At the council's briefing, head of operation delivery Gareth Morgan had let slip about the trial when he was covering off how the council is "exploring lots of innovations and trying to do things differently".
"We are always looking for an opportunity to innovate and bring some extra value."
Other innovations included using plastic grid in road rehabilitation, "so we don’t have to excavate deeper to bind and hold the roads together".
The council also introduced an underground stormwater management solution – StormBrixx – to manage surface flooding in flood-prone areas.
The system worked by creating an underground tank made of interlocking plastic units that temporarily held rainwater before releasing it slowly into the ground or stormwater network.
In another roading innovation, the council was looking a model where contractors leased the road lanes, Morgan said.
"They don't just close the road, they lease the lane. And that's not as a revenue gathering exercise, that is as an incentivisation exercise. Get in, do what you need to do, get out."
Morgan said there was a perception "our roads are not great", but NZTA data showed Selwyn’s roads were some of the smoothest compared to most of New Zealand.
That was measured by a specialised truck that travelled the roading networks and measured roughness.
"There are people with more problems than Selwyn," Morgan said.
"That’s not saying we don’t have problems or challenges."
Selwyn faced high growth and increased traffic loading, with the fifth longest roading network in the country, but Morgan said it was the second largest when considering the land area it covered.
He said the council “extract good value” with the average cost for maintenance per linear kilometre at $7000.
"That’s, on average, 15% less than other networks in New Zealand."
He said there were challenges with the surface condition.
"Although our sealed roads are smoother than our peers, the road surface is trending downwards as our roads age, and as our roads cater for the growth and increased traffic.
"I guess you could say we have been sweating the asset a wee bit."
His presentation also noted that 90% of the work on the roads was from third parties, such as utility connections.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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