‘Knee-deep’ potholes damage newly rebuilt stretch of Canterbury highway

Wednesday, 15 July 2026

A stretch of State Highway 1 south of Ashburton is riddled with potholes just months after being rebuilt.

More than 100 potholes formed on the 1km section of State Highway 1, just south of Ashburton, following heavy rain last week, closing the southbound lane over the weekend.

Motorists vented their frustrations on social media about the state of the road between Ashburton and Timaru, including Ashburton’s Matt Peers.

“Nothing can be done, except for ripping it up and starting again,” Peers wrote on a road safety page. “Some holes would be close to knee deep.”

Regular travellers described the road as dangerous and in dire need of repair, while several said their cars had been damaged driving the stretch of road.

NZTA’s maintenance and operations area manager, Mark Pinner said the badly damaged section, just south of Ashburton, will be repaired as soon as possible.

He confirmed contractors completed rebuilding the 1km stretch of SH1 near Longbeach Road in March.

Reconstructing the road meant surfacing with a first-coat new chip seal, which is not fully waterproof, he said.

A planned further seal was planned for next year.

The effects of the heavy rain last week “significantly worsened some more minor existing issues, such as rutting, on this stretch of SH1”.

“Only in significant, or prolonged wet weather events, have we seen such extensive damage, as evident here.”

He said the number of potholes “is certainly over 100”.

The stop/go traffic management remains in place and roading crews aim to make the section of SH1 safe and reopen to two lanes, he said.

“Temporary roading repairs are expected over the next couple of weeks, ahead of permanent repairs that still need to be programmed in during better weather conditions.”

NZTA has an ongoing plan of work to renew and strengthen the road surface during suitable summer conditions on this SH1 corridor, he said.

“Over the next three summer seasons, subject to funding, NZTA has work programmed for renewing the road surface on most of SH1 between the Rangitata River and Ashburton, about 30km.

“This will include digging out areas where necessary, stabilising the surface and laying new chipseal.”

Associate Transport Minister and Rangitata MP James Meager drove the stretch of SH1 regularly over the last week.

“I have seen first-hand the poor condition of parts of SH1 between Ashburton and Timaru, particularly the section just south of Ashburton.

“While temporary repairs are being carried out now, the longer-term answer is to properly rebuild and strengthen the road.”

He is aware of the plans to renew the 30km stretch between the Rangitata River and Ashburton and “expects NZTA to closely oversee that work so we get a more durable and resilient State Highway 1”.

While the State Highway took a hammering, Ashburton District Council infrastructure group manager Neil McCann said there weren’t any major issues on the local network from the heavy rain but “as expected, we received lots of customer requests for pothole repairs”.

Roading crews were out inspecting roads after a week of rain and then freezing temperatures on Monday, he said.

He said potholes were always reported at this time of year and contractors make temporary repairs to the worst of them.

“Potholes are usually filled with an emulsion mix and finished with a top layer of crusher dust. This is aimed at containing the damage until wider repairs can be programmed and completed in the better spring and summer conditions.”

Between July 1-13 the council received 28 reports of potholes, compared to 18 in June and 83 in May.

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