Ive said it before and will say it again. Is road repair (a sad use of the word repair) the biggest rip off in this country!No doubt you all see this happening all over NZ.Just last week a outfit called Blacktop ( appropraite name too ) did some work on State Highway goat track. No idea why as I drive and ride over the section every day and nothing appeared wrong with it. Now sincethis outfit have done there reapirs its a bloody uneven, rough and already a peeling mess. Atfer TWO days. No doubt these contactors (and others) are paid hundreds of thousands to make theses messess all over NZ. Who approves and checks up on this carry on. And how can it be cheaper for a NI contractor to be at the bottom of the South Island than local contractors doing it.OOPs just answered my own question. This is what happen when you get bean counters making descissions I guess. Lets see how one works. for 1km bit of road to resurfaced. Bid 1, 1 million dollars and 3 weeks work Bid 22 million dollars and 2 weeks work bid 3125 thousand and 4 days work. Hmmmmm says our bean counter in his air conned highrise office.I never drive there, I fly every where anyway, Gotta save money as well. And that outfit has pretty coloured trucks. Yep Bid 3 for me. I really have no idea but it sure seems that way. Someones getting rich out there. Right, Im off towww.trade me, trucks and loaders costs.
intrade,
Nov 30, 11:00pm
you wont get the contract its there buddies who get ritch from the beanscounters who then get some numbnuts for peanuts to make the mess . you wont get no work.
hpaul,
Nov 30, 11:09pm
Slow day!
murray55,
Nov 30, 11:13pm
About time this was brought to the public attention !Heaps of road works around where I live, for absolutely no apparent reason. I finally got through to someone at WCC who had some knowledge of the works in progress .he lame arse excuse for the work being done .MAINTENANCE.What utter BS .I drive over these roads day in day out and there was nothing at all wrong with them !It's a fuck.n scam !
splinter67,
Nov 30, 11:23pm
dude ya might want to edit that before trademe do
gunhand,
Dec 1, 12:31am
Pretty much, wet cold and not alot going on today.But like many its hard to figure why no doubt multi million dollar contracts are givin to outfits that just make a mess. And we have all seen passing lanes etc put in only to be ripped up a month latter due to it falling apart. And no doubt some engineer blaims all but shoody workmanship for it, so they get another pay day for redoing it.Whatever happen to"do it once do it right"Mind you, no money in making things that last now is there.
theram1,
Dec 1, 12:36am
Watch what you type, I will wash your fingers with soap.
m16d,
Dec 1, 12:40am
No point in editing it now that you've quoted him.
theram1,
Dec 1, 12:56am
does that make my guilty by association!. If so here goes.
About time this was brought to the public attention ! Heaps of road works around where I live, for absolutely no apparent reason. I finally got through to someone at WCC who had some knowledge of the works in progress .he lame arse excuse for the work being done .MAINTENANCE. What utter BS .I drive over these roads day in day out and there was nothing at all wrong with them ! It's a fuck.n scam !
Quote murray55 (80 )12:13 pm, Sat 1 Dec #4
splinter67,
Dec 1, 12:56am
he cant edit it now anyway
dave653,
Dec 1, 2:07am
Lowest tender accepted, then 3-6 months later the job has to be done again. false economy! And all after our bloody rates keep going up too.
elect70,
Dec 1, 2:47am
There is only2 main roading contractors in Nzrestjust sub contract to them. As long as we havecheap , nasty,low grip , noisychip seal thatsbestcan get .Scrape the surfacelayer of crushed rock then chip seal .Thepomsknow how tobuild roadsmust be the Romanblood .Theydo4 layers ofrockcompactedeach layer&fine layer lastthen proper macadam.
mr.anderson,
Dec 1, 3:46am
agreed. how many new passing lanes do you see, only months later, with repairs being done!They stay flat for all of 5 minutes before they either lift from heat/sun combined with stupidly high axle weights on trucks clocking over 100 clicks an hour, or the frosts/water ice breaking them up.bloody goat tracks is right. it's all good tho, we'll just flick bulk freight onto rail and ease up on the roads eh!insert tui ad.
loulou175,
Dec 1, 3:48am
We should bite the bullet and use CONCRETE! I never got this years ago when I worked with this ex contractor who went on many a rant about how insane it is that we use bitumen roading as although its cheaper initially, in the long run it costs us a fortune. Turns out over the years I have discovered (since his death) that he is exactly right.
God, cant believe I am discussing roading lol but still, its a sham alright!
speedy_11,
Dec 1, 3:53am
Actually, because most are decided and won using the lowest price conforming method, the contractors that win aren't getting rich off the contracts, and are often loosing money on them. Margins as low as 3% are common, which leave no room for error. The consultants and engineers (middle men) however - well thats a totally different story.
FYI I spend most of my time preparing those bids.
theram1,
Dec 1, 3:54am
High axle weight, 44 tonnes over 8 axles is not that high. Build the roads to withstand the legally allowed axle weights. Using rail still requires the goods to get to the train and from the train, meaning double handling and more chance of damage and loss, rail can't match the service that trucks provide. The only good train is one that can back up your driveway and they can't do that. In this consumer world people don't want to wait for goods to be delivered.
gunhand,
Dec 1, 4:02am
No room for error!Ive seen these guys at work and it looks like its all error to me. The only thing I can think of is they get a kick back from glass companys and paint shops.I have absolutly nothing to do with roading but even I can see how they do it is waste of time. There must be some money in it due to NI contractors and all there gear being at the bottom of the SI. But unfrotunatly the Government have far bigger fish to fry, and millions to waste than looking into the money pit that is roading. They have looked into leaky homes so maybe roading should be next.
gunhand,
Dec 1, 4:03am
That would take someone who actually knows how BUILD a road, not just toss chip and hotmix at it.
speedy_11,
Dec 1, 4:11am
I would assume if you are so knowledgable about the correct and incorrect methods of road construction, you are a civil engineer!
gunhand,
Dec 1, 4:19am
Not even close. But it dosn't take to much intelligence to see what they do is just a waste of effort. They turn a reasonable bit of road into a mess and thats about it. There not "constructing" anything.A couple of days work is not constructing a road. And when it fails in less that a week it tells me even more. And Ive seen how roads are built and maintained elsewhere in the world and it isn't at all like the rip off going on here. Christ they can not even repair a pot hole here without making it worse.
theram1,
Dec 1, 4:22am
he may not be, but it sounds like you are.
speedy_11,
Dec 1, 4:28am
If he was, he might know that the poor design of the works (and subsequent failure of that design) is not the responsibility of the contractor, the contractor merely completes the work to the specifications of the engineer who creates the design for the local authority. It is those engineers that are the ones reaping the profits.
gunhand,
Dec 1, 4:36am
I have no doubt the contractors are making the mess there instructed to. It still dosn't take away the fact that its a scam no matter from what point of authority it comes from. Possably a bit of "shooting the messanger"we know its not his fault but thats what we all see. They should have "don't blame us" banners on there trucks.
mokaubach,
Dec 1, 5:36am
Bollocks there are only two main roading contractors in NZ, does a contractor have to be big to be good does it!. There are plenty of good contractors, half the issue is the scope of work they are asked to bid to by the client/s. Like most other low quality outcomes, it comes down to the difference between cost and value.
bashfulbro,
Dec 1, 6:56am
There has been exercises done on this, but nothing ever changes,it is a well known and publicised fact, that road construction in NZ, costs, sometimes up to 10 times the equivalent in other developed countries. I recently read an article, in a Road Transport mag, where they compared the rate per kilometre with other countries,and equal sections of road construction in the US, cost5.7 million.NZ cost 62 million. I also heard that the Waterview tunnel in Auckland, is costing $ 1 Million per metre.It is obvious that corruption is rife in NZ.
Since the public registrations are closed, you must have an invite from a current member to be able to register and post in this thread.
Have an account? Login here.