Only a quarter of repairs done

The Clutha District Council is facing a bill of about $1.5million for damage to roads and infrastructure from last month’s floods.

Only a quarter of the repairs have been done and work will slow in the coming months as routine jobs are carried out.

The district was hit hard by rain on October 4-5 and a state of emergency was declared for the area. More than 50 roads were closed at one stage and farms were hit hard with large scars of land carved out.

Contractors were busy with multiple days of flood inspections and road management then began the task of clearing slips, drop outs and other flood damage, including interference with water treatment.

At an Infrastructure Strategy and Operations Committee meeting yesterday, council staff advised the flooding had hit the district in many areas.

One particularly severe washout on Summerhill Rd was caused by an illegally dumped kitchen whiteware item blocking a culvert, which led to it blowing out.

A report by transport operations manager James Allison at the meeting yesterday estimated about 25% of repairs were complete.

Workers were busy with slip clearing on the Chaslands and Papatowai highways in the weeks after the floods.

Other workers also had a busy month, with flood repairs on Karoro Creek and Puaho roads. Council contractors also sent a crew from Dunedin to help with flood repairs.

Progress would be slower from here on as roading crews also needed to resume their usual maintenance tasks, Mr Allison said.