Cash injection from NZTA
The Timaru District Council has received a cash injection of $2 million from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to help repair infrastructure damaged when the Rangitata River burst its banks.
Rangitata, about 45 kilometres north of Timaru, was put into a state of emergency on December 8 when the river burst its banks following significant rainfall that led to widespread flooding and slips, considered a one in 20 year event. The major event caused major damage to the council’s roading network.
The funding accounts for approximately 57 per cent of the total cost associated with the flooding event, including the initial response during it and the recovery repairs.
The remaining 43 per cent will be funded from the council’s disaster relief fund.
The council’s land transport manager Andrew Dixon said the funding will significantly help repair and improve the long term resilience of the affected roads.
As the river rose to flood levels that breached the banks at Arundel and Rangitata, all transport access across the river – road and rail – was severed on December 8.
The council’s Route 72 at Arundel Bridge, when reopened on December 9, became the State Highway 1 bypass for several days.
‘‘Although we managed to get traffic flowing again reasonably quickly, we still have to deal with the extensive damage on roads and bridge abutments from the river breakout flows,’’ Dixon said.
‘‘Council has been conducting repairs since the event, which enabled the roads to be passable. However, many are temporary in nature and further work is required to achieve a long term solution. This means that a complete rebuild of some sections of the affected roads is required.
‘‘As there is no insurance cover for road infrastructure, funding from the transport agency becomes critical to enabling us to fix the road damage properly.’’
The funding may also help repair and renew some of roads used as the State Highway 1 bypass during the flooding event, he said.
‘‘The significantly increased traffic volumes during the event resulted in deterioration of some roads and contributed to the shortening of their usual expected life span.’’
Work on the majority of the affected roads is expected to be complete in six months, with some to be completed by the end of this year.