Bridge debris to be cleared soon
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
The debris that caused the SH1 Ashburton/Hakatere River bridge to close will be cleared “in the next fortnight”, Waka Kotahi says.
Environment Canterbury has jurisdiction over river management, but as the debris is impacting the bridges it will be Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and KiwiRail’s job to remove it.
Waka Kotahi is responsible for debris up against, or within 50 metres of, a bridge or culvert, senior network manager for Mid and South Canterbury Scott McKenzie said.
The work is planned to occur in the next fortnight “when flows further reduce to allow easy access and safe crossing to get all of the debris off the piers and clear of the structure in one operation”.
“We will also be completing works around the KiwiRail bridge, taking a collaborative approach previously agreed from prior flood events."
It was suggested at a recent Ashburton District Council activity briefing meeting that Waka Kotahi would use a digger from the bridge to clear some debris as a trial for doing preventative clearing during a flood event, but McKenzie said the work will likely occur from the riverbed itself.
Using a digger on the bridge “can’t be ruled out, but wouldn’t typically be the first solution as it could damage the bridge deck and would potentially only have minimal effect when the river was in full flood”.
“Normally, it is easier, safer, and more efficient to monitor, intervening where required then addressing and removing and clearing debris once flood waters recede.”
ECan flood protection – recovery manager Shaun McCracken said an excavator had been working on the Hinds River railway bridge, and it would likely move onto the SH1 road bridge next.
ECan’s responsibility sits with the management of debris in the rest of the river, “which we’ve put huge resources into over the past two years”, McCracken said.
Meanwhile, Waka Kotahi regional relationships director James Caygill, and other key staff involved in Civil Defence emergency events will be asked about the bridge management and processes around its closure by the council at Wednesday’s meeting.
*Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
⚠️ 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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62% Summer
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36.5% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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