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District Roading Network

There are some 3,000 kilometres of maintained roads in the district with 2,530 kilometres under the control of the Far North District Council and the balance being State highways 1, 10, 11 & 12 under the control of the New Zealand Transport Agency.

A safe, efficient roading system is vital to the Far North to overcome isolation, for health and safety, for communication, and to promote development. Read more about the Council's investment in roading in the LTCCP, Annual Plan and Annual Report . 

Car ferries complete links between Rawene and The Narrows (Hokianga Harbour) and between Opua and Okiato Point (Bay of Islands). Passenger ferries operate between Paihia and Russell. 

At present, The Hokianga Ferry Service is operated by Transfield Services New Zealand Ltd under contract to Council. Other ferry services are privately owned and operated.

How does the Far North District Council contribute to roading?

• Council road construction work includes extensions and re-alignments to the seal and also bridge construction.
• The Council carries out work on roads within the district that need re-forming. This includes major rehabilitation and unsealed smoothing.
• Safety services and construction carried out by Council include roadmarking, road signs and furniture (such as barriers etc.) street light operations and safety footpaths.
• Minor safety works include safety lighting, sight distance improvements, guardrailing, and intersection layout improvements.
• The Council carries out routine road and bridge maintenance on 2,511 kilometres of roads and 700 bridges within the district.
• Road Legalisation is the acquisition/disposal of property for roading purposes.
• In the event of natural calamities Council may re-allocate funds from the existing budget to address emergency works.
• The Council administers and manages a number of quarries in the District. Some are owned, others are leased by Council.

 Road Maintenance

Providing a good Level of Service on the sealed and unsealed road network is a constant focus for the Council. FNDC is implementing a strategic approach to the maintenance and development of both the sealed and unsealed network.

GHD Ltd are employed as Council's Road Network Managers for a minium period of 3 yrs (2007 - 2010).

To facilitate the administration of road maintenance works, the district has been divided into two work areas, North and South with the dividing line running from Opononi in the West to Takou Bay in the East.

Transfield Services (NZ) Limited - Roading currently have the Southern Road Maintenance Contract and Fulton Hogan has the Northern Road Maintenance Contract.

 If you would like to log a Request for Service for repairs maintenance to a Council road, sign, streetlight or other facility, you can do so by contacting our Customer Service staff and logging a Request for Service (RFS).

If you request for maintenance relates to a state highway (1, 10, 11 or 12) then please contact NZTA on 0800 111 655.

Road Improvement Strategy

The Far North District Council (FNDC) has undertaken to develop a Road Improvement Strategy (RIS) that will provide a guiding framework for transport decisions within the Far North for the next 15 – 20 years. It is intended that the RIS will be used to develop Council’s Roading Capital Works Programme and be reviewed and updated each year with a major review every five years.

This Baseline Data and District Overview Information is the first stage in the development of the RIS. It will provide the general background that is needed to identify the key existing and future demand transport issues facing the Far North District. The development of the RIS is to be based on fundamental links made between the strategy, land use development, economic development plans, and regional and national transport policies and legislation. This Baseline Report identifies these links. It provides a review of relevant policy and strategies at a National, Regional and District level and identifies areas of present and future economic and social importance throughout the District. It will outline a strategic roading network that will feed into the regional network developed through the Northland Integrated Transport Strategy.

Click here to download PDF versions of the

• Road Improvement Strategy (445 Kb PDF)

• Proposed Strategic Roading Network Land Use Map (642 Kb PDF)

• Proposed Strategic Roading Network Route Map (570 Kb PDF)

Bridge Management Strategy 

The Far North District Council is responsible for the management of 694 bridges on the local road network.

The objective of this report is to develop a Bridge Management Strategy that outlines the future renewal requirements of bridges in the Far North District. The strategy will assess the main drivers for bridge renewal within the Far North District Council (FNDC) network and develop a prioritised list of bridge renewal projects that can be used for longterm asset management planning purposes. The strategy will also highlight bridges likely to require renewal in the next 10 – 20 years, which will require more detailed assessments to justify NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) funding.  The implementation of this strategy is essential in providing a safe, economical and effective road network throughout the district.  They carry roads over any obstacles in their path, such as rivers, railways or other roads.

Far North District Council aims to increase the knowledge of the existing bridge stock, and ensure that the bridge assets are managed in a manner that balances road transport needs with strengthening and renewal funding.  The intention is that this strategy shall be used as a framework for improving the performance of bridges across the following areas, carrying 21st century vehicles, life cycle management for maximum benefit and ensuring safety by bringing the bridges up to present day standards.

Pavement Management Strategy

This document uses information available for the Council’s roads infrastructure to look at the network trends and analyse key performance indicators to prepare minimum overall treatment regimes for both the sealed and unsealed network.  The PRS has a number of components and is generated using strategies relating to the following pavement related items:

• Resurfacing of sealed roads
• Pavement rehabilitation
• Unsealed pavement renewal 

Two of the most critical questions facing road asset managers are:

• What level of investment is required to achieve the targeted standard (LOS), and once achieved, to then maintain the standard, satisfying that LOS over a long period?
• With the budget I have available (or can reasonably expect), what is the highest overall condition I can achieve for my network?

The overriding goal for the PRS is for the Council to be delivering the specified level of service while operating in the optimal maintenance zone.

To achieve this level of optimisation FNDC needs a tangible link between all of its road maintenance documents at strategic, tactical and operational levels – as such this PRS should be considered a tactical document.

Proactive maintenance can be seen as the forward works programme and includes pavement rehabilitation, heavy metalling of unsealed roads, and sealed road resurfacing, compared with a reactive maintenance regime of responding to complaints and undertaking work on an as required basis, for example routine maintenance activities.