Culvert repair work nearly finished

Work to replace a flood-damaged culvert that closed a section of State Highway 1 near Waipahi earlier this month should be finished by tomorrow.

New Zealand Transport Agency Otago-Southland state highways manager Ian Duncan said what was left of the culvert was being removed and replaced with a 30m culvert. It was twice as wide as the old one and could handle larger amounts of water, reducing risk of further washouts.

The section of road, about 3km west of Waipahi, was closed on July 4. The work is estimated to cost $230,000.