I’m starting to wonder whether it was just a fluke that we managed to build things like the big hydro dams back in the day without them falling over. Without them falling apart. Cracking under the pressure.  

Because, when you consider achievements like that, it makes it laughable that we don’t seem to be capable anymore of really simple stuff like fixing roads.  

An example is Halswell Junction Road, in Christchurch. Three repairs in the past 12 months and now it needs to be done a fourth time. The local councillor has had a gutsful, and I don’t blame him.  

What are some other examples that show just how average we’ve become? What about that time they flooded Cromwell and created the new lake? Was it just a fluke that we pulled that off without it leaking all over the place?  

The Lyttelton tunnel. How on earth did we do that without it caving in?  

We used to be able to do all those things. These days, we can’t even fix a road properly.  

We can build rockets and send them into space. We can build boats that win the America’s Cup.  

In fact, we’re better at those things than we are at fixing roads. Which is crazy, isn’t it?   

City councillor Andrei Moore is saying today that the repair work on Halswell Junction Road has been sub-standard and parts of it still aren’t level.     

What’s more, people are telling him that their houses are being shaken by traffic more than ever.  

So why’s that, do you reckon? I’ll tell you what I think but, first, here’s the council’s explanation.  

Its head of transport has told our newsroom that the problem with Halswell Junction Road is that it isn’t strong enough for them to use asphalt, and so they have to use chip seal.  

And, obviously, chip seal is hopeless on that particular road - which is a major route.  

The thing is, it’s not just Halswell Junction Road, is it? It seems to be everywhere. All over the place - so-called repairs are being done, over-and-over again.   

Maybe calling them “repairs” is generous, because something is only repaired once it doesn’t need fixing again.    

And do you know why this is happening? It’s easy. She’ll be right.  

This “she’ll be right” attitude is rife everywhere. It’s rife in councils, where the processes they use to hire contractors has become so complex, that once a roading outfit is in the system, they’re pretty much there for life.  

Even if they do cruddy work - they’re in the system, they’ve got a purchase order number, invoicing is all set-up and it's way too much work for the council to find someone who might do the job better.  

And hey, we can still tick things off the to-do list - even if we have to get them back to do it all over again in three months time.   

She’ll be right. The companies that do the actual work. If it doesn’t work first time, we’ll come back and sort it out. Don’t bother telling the council that chip seal is hopeless and we should be using asphalt. Don’t upset the apple cart. She’ll be right. Job for life.  

And you and I, we’re part of the problem too.  

Because, generally, we just shrug our shoulders and put up with this lame she’ll be right attitude when, what we should be doing, is making more of a noise about it.  

And when I say noise, I mean actually putting people into these councils who are prepared to push back when they hear nonsense such as Halswell Junction Road not being strong enough to take the weight of asphalt.  

I’m talking about putting people into councils who will push back at that and say, do something about that. Don’t just keep pouring chipseal. Make the road stronger.  

People who will challenge the way their council monitors performance and quality.  

People who will do there everything to get rid of “she’ll be right”.  

Because, until that happens —until everyone ups their game— nothing is going to change. And the same repairs are going to continue to be done over and over again.