CONSERVE WATER NOTICE - WAIHEMO SUPPLY: Consumers on the PALMERSTON, DUNBACK AND GOODWOOD Zones of the WAIHEMO WATER SUPPLY are asked to CONSERVE WATER over the 2024/25 summer period.
Published on 28 November 2023
Work around the Kakanui bridge will begin this week, as the progress on the replacement of the 124-year-old crossing continues with ground testing on the banks, and river bed. Earlier this year Waitaki District Council secured design funding for a replacement bridge, meaning the eventual project will be shovel-ready once construction funding is acquired.
A detailed survey of the land either side of the Kakanui River has been completed, and investigation into the ground is to begin on Wednesday 29 November. Resource consent and Archaeological authority for the ground investigation have been granted.
Testing involves drilling five test holes, including two in the river itself. The river tests will involve working from a barge, and there will be increased environmental controls to protect the river.
Mayor Gary Kircher says: “The Kakanui Bridge has been an impending project for much of the past two decades, given its age and the increasing numbers of closures during flood events. This work will help ensure that the new bridge should be able to serve our community for the next century or more.”
It is not expected to affect traffic in the Waianakarua Road area, however the boat ramp and parking area will be occupied by drilling equipment for periods during the anticipated two-weeks testing period, subject to conditions.
The current Kakanui bridge was opened in 1899, and is the second bridge at that location. The original piles for the 1871 bridge can still be seen at low tide upstream of the existing bridge.
ENDS