Work to clear landslip expected to begin soon

Work may begin soon on long awaited repair work on Fruitgrowers Rd, which was closed by a slip in...
Work may begin soon on long awaited repair work on Fruitgrowers Rd, which was closed by a slip in 2013. Photo from ODT files.
More than 18 months after the hillside slumped on to Fruitgrowers Rd, work may soon begin on clearing the landslip.

Central Otago District Council roading manager Julie Muir said resource consent was needed for the work, as about 23,000cu m of material had to be shifted. An application was being prepared, she said.

The road near Clyde was closed for two months after the October 2013 slip and one lane was reopened in mid December that year.

The slip stemmed from Contact property above the council's legal road, the council was told last year.

''Negotiations with Contact regarding financial responsibility for the work and permission to access their land and provide a fill site nearby are still under way,'' Ms Muir said in a quarterly report to the council, released last week.

''If all goes well, then work may be able to commence on site in late May or June.''

The landslip was about 70m wide and 50m high and it damaged power lines as well as dropping rubble on the road.

In a report tabled at the council's October meeting, council's roading engineer Scott Graham said there had been no significant rainfall or seismic activity to act as a trigger for the landslip. Fruitgrowers Rd was built by the Ministry of Works during construction of the dam to provide access to a concrete batching plant.

The road provides access to the Dunstan Arm Rowing Club base and popular recreation and freedom camping areas and a traffic count the week before Christmas 2013 recorded an average of 133 vehicles a day on the road. It was mostly used by anglers, boaters, swimmers and campers.

 

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