Latest floods a ‘dodged bullet’
"We just dodged another bullet.”
Ashburton mayor Neil Brown wasn’t mincing words when he renewed calls for Ashburton’s second bridge, hours after it had reopened following a second flood-related closure in two years.
The South Island was essentially cut in half for almost 12 hours after Waka Kotahi closed the State Highway 1 Ashburton/Hakatere River Bridge due to a build-up of debris on Sunday night.
It was an ‘I told you so’ moment and Brown didn’t hesitate.
“We need to do something.
“We had almost a third of our annual rainfall in 24 hours. The river got to half the flow it was two years ago and we got away lightly this time, but it may not happen next time.
“We need to build some resilience into this river to keep the South Island connected.”
During the 2021 floods, the river raged at 1500 cumecs and the bridge was closed for days after a pier slumped and needed to be repaired.
The river flow peaked at 723 cumecs at the Ashburton/Hakatere SH1 bridge at 4pm on Sunday, with Waka Kotahi officially closing the 90-year-old bridge at 7pm. It reopened at 6am on Monday.
The closure was warranted, Brown said.
“It was a precautionary measure.
“They had to monitor that debris that is building up in front of the piers of the bridge and they could not do that in the dark.”
It also highlighted the need for a second river crossing in Ashburton.
The council has done all the work on the second bridge project, with its $113.6m business case sitting with Waka Kotahi.
Former Minister of Transport Michael Wood had asked the council and Waka Kotahi to discuss ‘innovative funding options’ for the project.
“We were about to present those to him but he resigned.
“We have a new minister of transport and we will be working with him to push this case further ahead.”
Government MPs, including Rangitata MP Jo Luxton and Local Government Minister Kieran McAnulty, are aware of the situation, Brown said.
“They just haven’t come out and said how they are proposing to solve the problem."
Luxton was on annual leave on Monday and deferred to McAnulty's office, as did Minister of Transport David Parker.
McAnulty said a decision on the potential funding of a second Ashburton Bridge is a work in progress.
Decisions would be made as part of the development of 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP), he said.
"Waka Kotahi is continuing to work with the Ashburton District Council to explore potential funding options and to progress the business case for a second Ashburton bridge."
National has already pledged to build a second bridge in Ashburton in its first term if elected, but has stopped short of locking in the proposed Chalmers Avenue option.
*Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
Best way to use leftovers?
I'm sure you've got some excess ham at home or cold roast potatoes.
What are some of your favourite ways to use leftover food from Christmas day? Share below.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.8% Summer
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36.7% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
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