Dust suppression to be applied to more unsealed roads
Roads that normally receive dust suppressant, but missed out this year will now be treated, increasing the total length of roads receiving the treatment this summer from 29km to 48.6km.
Each year, the council applies compounds to sections of unsealed roads where dust created by passing traffic severely impacts residents and community sites, such as marae and schools. The compounds are normally applied before Christmas and bond with road dust without making the road surface slippery. The treatment is significantly cheaper than sealing the road but only has a lifespan of up to three months.
Each stretch of road to be treated is chosen using a Dust Matrix. To make the process more consistent and improve fairness, the council this year changed its approach to applying the matrix criteria. That resulted in several unsealed roads that had previously received treatment being excluded this summer, while other roads were added to the list.
Head of Infrastructure for Far North District Council, Tanya Proctor, says that road dust seriously impacts many Far North residents living close to busy unsealed roads. She acknowledges that the council failed to communicate changes to the way it allocates dust suppression, leaving many residents, businesses and community organisations dismayed and angry.
“We got it wrong and apologise for that. I have now instructed contractors to go back and apply dust suppressant to sections of road that were missed out. That should be done before Christmas for roads in the northern part of the district, and early in the new year for southern roads.”
She says while applying dust suppression compounds is cheaper than sealing roads, it is a considerable expense for the council and is not subsidised by the NZ Transport Agency – Waka Kotahi.
Sites selected for dust suppression meet the following criteria:
- Houses within 25m from the road
- The average speed of cars, vans and smaller trucks using the road is more than 65km/hr
- Traffic volume is greater than 130 vehicles per day
- At least 30 Heavy Commercial Vehicles use the road each day.