Council will apply for emergency road damage funding
A decision around how to fund the road damage repairs from last year’s storms in July and October was made by councillors at this week’s Hurunui District Council meeting.
Remediation work for the July 2023 and October 2023 storms will be debt-funded by Council, and an application will be made to Waka Kotahi/NZTA for funding assistance under its Emergency Works Category. If criteria are met, between 52% and 72% of the total $520,000 road damage repair cost will be reimbursed.
July’s heavy rain and snow caused widespread disruption, multiple slips and drainage overtopping, while October’s high winds caused damage mainly for southern Hurunui.
Chief Operations Officer Dan Harris said the damage caused by these two weather events was beyond the capacity of the fund set aside annually by Council for minor emergency works. Therefore only minimum work was carried out, with a primary focus on re-establishing safe roads.
“Many slips and slumps occurred, and remedial action is now required to ensure repeat occurrences are prevented,” said Harris.
The approved funding will be prioritised to remove roadside trees and debris which continues to be a hazard for road users, causing harm if it is brought back onto the road. Harris said runoff material from the storms caused blocked drains and culverts, which if not dealt to soon will lead to surface flooding during future rain events, while further overtopping will damage the road surfaces.
“Essentially what I am looking to do today is to get approval to fix up the drainage and wind damage, which sits to the tune of $520,000,” was Harris’ address to councillors.
Remedial works will begin as soon as practicable and will be completed by the end of May 2024.