The Waitaki District Council decided yesterday to go ahead with the project, that will move the road, a vital detour when State Highway 1 is closed, further away from a cliff which is being eroded by the river.
Already, it has reduced the road to a single lane.
Assets committee chairman Alistair Mavor said the work was needed urgently because movement had started again and the road could end up in the river.
However, while the total cost of the project in the next financial year is $749,000, $24,750 will come from a record dividend the council has received from Whitestone Contracting Ltd. The dividend contribution will go towards the $75,000 needed to buy the land on which the new section of road will go.
The rest of the cost will be paid from depreciation reserves and a 57% subsidy from the New Zealand Land Transport Agency.
Assets manager Neil Jorgensen said the road, about 3.5km from SH1, was about 30m above the river and within metres of the edge of the cliff. About 100m had been reduced to a single lane after heavy rain in 2007 eroded the cliff.
When looking at its long-term budget, the council scheduled the work for 2012-13, but the work was important because of economic development in the area and the road's role as a detour for SH1. The council yesterday decided to do the work next financial year.
At the same time, it has deferred replacing the 111-year-old, single- lane wooden bridge at Kakanui across the Kakanui River, a project which would have cost $5.369 million.
Mr Jorgensen said the condition of the bridge was better than first thought, but it needed $100,000 of structural work to extend its life. It would get a 57% subsidy from the agency with the rest coming from depreciation.
An engineering report said if that work was done, the bridge could continue for at least 10 years. The job has been deferred to the 2019-21 financial years.
