Our northern suburbs were the hardest hit and the wet summer and winter that’s followed has continued to cause slips and issues around the region.
Chief Operating Officer Tamsin Evans says the safety of residents is our main priority, so slips that have an immediate impact on people, where they are compromising a property or road, have been dealt with first.
Some of the most urgent sites have been
repaired or are nearly finished. Construction and repair work has been underway
at eight Moonshine Road sites since March and is now nearing completion. The
final sealing and marking of the road is expected to happen early October.
Ms Evans says clean-up and repair work has cost an additional $3.2 million in capital expenditure and $540,000 in operating expenditure so far. The Moonshine Road works have cost $950,000 to date, with the work expected to cost $1,175,000 in total.
Another major slip-repair job underway
in the region is Albatross Close, with the investigations alone for this expected
to cost an additional $100,000.
Borehole drilling rig in action, Albatross Close.
“We’ve needed to prioritise and allocate our limited resources and ensure that funds are spent appropriately. Any repair work we’re doing is designed and built as a long-term solution rather than a quick fix.”
Ms Evans says there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes
work that goes on before any on-site work can begin and some of the larger jobs
take time to complete.
“Each site needs a geotechnical assessment,
prioritisation, and then investigation (including a topographical survey,
ground condition assessment, calculations, drawing up of designs and specifications,
gaining consents and seeking tenders) before construction work can be
undertaken,” she says.
Some of the other major sites that have been repaired or are nearing completion are Paekakariki Hill Road, Colonial Knob, Champion Street and two sites on Motuhara Road.
“Resource availability and heavy rain has continued to hamper progress, but people have generally been patient and understanding,” says Ms Evans.
We’ve been communicating directly with
affected residents, so people can follow the work’s progress.
28 Sep 2017
