Mayor confident Ashburton’s second bridge will get the go ahead
From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Ashburton’s mayor is confident the town’s proposed second Ashburton River Bridge will find favour with the Government but “there is no guarantee.”
Neil Brown met with Finance Minister Grant Robertson at a post-budget event in Timaru last week, where he was told the bridge was in the budget.
“He said ‘your second bridge is in the budget’ when I asked him about the billion-dollar infrastructure spend,” Brown said.
With the treasury forecasting $61.9 billion of infrastructure investment over the next five years, Brown said that while Robertson’s assurance the bridge was in the Government’s budget plans was good news, it wasn’t a guarantee.
Brown hopes a concrete commitment to the project will hopefully come later this year.
The Ashburton District Council is in the process of finalising the third stage of the business case, a detailed design including costs, which will be presented to the council at the start of August.
“Once that has been approved by council, I’ll head off to Wellington with it to present it to the prime minister and deputy prime minister to see where we stand.”
The case for the bridge is clear, it’s one of connectivity and resilience for not just the town but the entire South Island Brown said.
What is up for discussion is how the bridge will be funded.
The new bridge has been estimated to cost about $40 million and the council has budgeted 20%, about $8m, in its long term plan as its contribution to the project, and will hope to secure the remainder from the Government.
As the Chalmers Ave site is not a state highway, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency would normally only fund up to 51% of the project, leaving 29% of the estimated cost to be determined.
Brown hoped the business case would convince the Government to meet that shortfall and said he would be pushing for the project to start as soon as possible.
In all likelihood it will be included in Waka Kotahi’s next three year work plan – the National Land Transport Programme, starting in 2024.
Here's Thursday's thinker!
I am lighter than air, but a hundred people cannot lift me. What am I?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
Poll: Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?
Drivers get where they need to go, but sometimes it seems that we are all abiding by different road rules (for example, the varying ways drivers indicate around a roundabout).
Do you think drivers should be required to take a quick driving theory test every 10 years?
Vote in the poll and share any road rules that you've seen bent! 😱
-
48.3% Yes
-
49.7% No
-
1.9% Other - I'll share below
Hero
“I was born and raised in war. To be honest, those are not good memories.
I really like Iran, and I really miss it, but I couldn’t be myself there. Even though my family didn’t like my decision, I left Iran. I promised myself that I would do whatever I can for all communities, especially for the kids, so they do not have the same experience I had.
I studied software engineering in Iran and left in 2006. I went to Malaysia and stayed in Kuala Lumpur for seven years. I was admitted to Lincoln University to do my PhD here, but unfortunately, I couldn’t afford the expenses. I requested a scholarship, but they told me I had to be there for six months first. So, I stayed in Malaysia and did my PhD in network security. In December 2013, I came to New Zealand with a work visa.
It took me a while to connect with the Iranian community here. I volunteered with the Multicultural Council, SPCA, and community patrol, and I established the Christchurch Iranian Society in 2017. Before that, I started working on Radio Toranj, the only Farsi-language radio show in New Zealand.
One of the reasons I started organizing cultural events was to showcase Iranian culture. I wanted to show people that we have delicious food, colorful dresses, traditional customs, and our own instruments. My hope was to show people that we are not what you see in the media.
I am working to involve all the communities that celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year, in the Nowruz festival in March 2025. We want to share this celebration not only with our community but with the public as well. It’s better when it’s shared.
I remember the first time someone from Dunedin called me and asked, Hero, can you help? Something happened, and they keep declining Iranian visa applications. When I heard that, I felt insulted. We are still human, so how can they do that?
Through this journey, I’ve learned a lot. Every single day, people with different cases call me, and I try to share my knowledge and guide them as much as I can.
I have received several awards, including the Christchurch Civic Award and an Award of Recognition for my contributions to the community during the pandemic. In 2021, I established Canterbury Kia Ora Academy, a charitable trust. Through this charity, I can help other communities as well, not just the Iranian community.”
- Hero
View more stories, or nominate someone: @humansofchch
www.humansofchch.org......
Loading…
