The Western Bay of Plenty District covers 212,000 hectares (about the same size as three and a half times the size of Lake Taupo). It extends from Waihi Beach in the northwest to beyond Maketu in the southeast, including Matakana Island.
The District covers three distinct geographical areas:
- The Pacific coast line
- The coastal plains
- The Kaimai range
The 1,040km of local roads and 122km of state highway in the District are managed under a performance based contract (PBC) arrangement.
The PBC, the first of its kind ever to be undertaken by a local authority and New Zealand Transport Agency, has been designed to obtain better service delivery value from road maintenance, renewal and capital expenditure through a single contract.
The 10 year PBC, which is worth approximately $140m commenced in October 2002.
A contracting alliance, which includes Opus Consultants, Transfield Services and Downer EDi Works and is known collectively as Inroads, manages the PBC.
The PBC includes maintenance and capital work as well as specified levels of service with pre-determined response times.
Operational, Management and Key Performance Measures monitor compliance.
Savings under the PBC, are allocated to additional community roading projects, such as seal extensions.
Of the 1,040km of roads currently maintained by Inroads, 250km are unsealed. The average cost of seal extensions (including design and consent costs) is $300,000/km