Ashburton Courier: June 18, 2020

Page 8, Ashburton's The Courier, Thursday June 18, 2020
Council meetings
back to normal
The Ashburton District
Council looks set to
resume its normal
schedule of meetingsafter
today, with councillors
expected to suspendthe
Covid­19 response
committee, which has met
weekly since late March
when pandemic
restrictions wereimposed.
Since March 25, council
delegated all of its
decision­making to the
Covid­19 committee.
Councillors met online via
Zoom to hear updates
about essential council
activities.
Councillors are
expected to vote to
reinstate the standing
committees and the
Methven Community
Board today.
Scheduled meetings
would resume on June 29
for the Methven board and
in July for council. The
environmental services,
community services and
infrastructure services
committees are planned to
meet on July7,with bylaw
and policy and audit, risk
and finance on July 9.
Areport for councillors
said the response
committee had done its job
of allowing council to
function through the
pandemic alert levels 4
down to 2. Reinstating the
committees would signal
business as usual and allow
greater community
engagement and
attendance at meetings.
• Additions and Renovations • All types of maintenance
• Commercial and Farm buildings • New Housing
Local news at www.starnews.co.nz
Trail users watch for machines
People walking and riding on
the Ashburton River trail are
being warned to watch out for
machinery and vehicles near
Milton Road.
Contractors working for the
Ashburton District Council are
installing anew and larger
wastewater pipeline under the
river from Milton Road south
to Wilkins Road. The pipe will
connect to anew pump station
being built on Wilkins Road.
The contractors are now
more than halfway across the
river with the new pipe and
people who use the river trail
are being warned to be mindful
of more machinery and
increased traffic in the Milton
Road area.
Work on the $7 million
wastewater upgrade was halted
during lockdown, but is back on
track. Contractors Seipp
Constructions have also begun
the pump station construction.
Chair of council's
infrastructure services
committee Stuart Wilson says
the project is making good
progress and that it will help
support Ashburton's growth for
many years to come.
‘‘Significant infrastructure
upgrades like this are as
important as ever as we look to
support our community and
Pipe progress under the Ashburton River.
encourage growth in the years
ahead. The council is very
pleased to be investing in this
project for the benefit of
residents now and well into the
future.
‘‘The technical skill to install
this pipeline while also keeping
the water flowing and looking
out for the wellbeing of fish and
birds in the area is also
impressive.’’
An estimated 900 fish were
rescued from a200m stretch of
the river and relocated under
the supervision of Environment
Canterbury.
Anumber of councillors and
staff visited the construction
site recently to assess progress
and were shown the work
currently happening on the
pump station.
At the end of May,
contractors poured more than
50 cubic metres of concrete to
form the pump station base
which is 10m below ground
level. They have since begun
working on the steel
reinforcement for the walls.
To date, more than 1100m of
sheet piles have been dug into
the riverbed to help control the
flow of water and allow for the
pipeline to be installed. In some
places, the pipe is being laid up
to 6.8m underground.
Service Delivery Group
Manager Neil McCann says
managing the water is one of
the biggest ongoing challenges
for the project.
‘‘Water from the river
surface is one factor, but
controlling the water table
underground is also abig
consideration. There are five
large de­watering pumps
working to keep the water table
below the pipe installation
level.
‘‘This water is then stored in
asettling pond before being
discharged in an
environmentally friendly
manner.’’
He said that although the
Covid­19 restrictions over
March and April pushed out
the construction schedule,
extra resource was being
allocated to help get the
programme back on track.
Work began on the project in
November last year and
contractors hope to have it
completed by this December.
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Longbeach event pays dividends
Organisers of the Ruralco
Longbeach Coastal Challenge
are hoping aresurgence of
people biking over lockdown will
see entries for this year’s event
come flooding in.
The challenge is on November
29.
Organising committee chair
Matt Galbraith said the annual
event, run by Longbeach School
and Hinds and District Lions,
had been well­supported in the
past with both groups playing
vital roles in its running.
They provide man­power
across the year and on the day,
including track readiness and
maintenance, health and safety,
registrations, marshalling,
cooking on the barbecue or
towing trailers.
Mr Galbraith said it was a
community event, run by
community people with money
raised benefitting the
community. It also had the
backing of business sponsors
from within the community.
It raised both groups $11,000
each last year.
Ruralco’s Jono Pavey, Longbeach School Board of Trustees
chair Toni Durham, Longbeach Coastal Challenge’s Matt
Galbraith and Hinds and District Lions president Malcolm
Read following the transfer of proceeds from last year’s
Ruralco Longbeach Coastal Challenge.
Longbeach School board of
trustees chair Toni Durham said
the money helped fund teacher
aides and educational support.
She said the support of the
lions and the school’s families
was a“very cool partnership”
and the school was grateful.
Hinds and District Lions
president Malcolm Read said
discussion on future projects
would be raised once the group
was able to get together again
post­Covid­19.
The 50­strong members are
not due to formally meet until
July, but planned asocial catchup
this week.
In the past the Lions have
contributed to community
projects such as the Carew Peel
Forest School pool repair work,
but also to projects that benefit
the wider community such as
those undertaken by Maia
Health’s Christchurch Hospital
rooftop helipad campaign.
Mr Read said now they were
keen for an event to “restore the
heart in the community”.
“We’re just looking forward to
getting back together as a
group.”
Mr Galbraith said there has
been renewed interest in cycling
which he hoped would see more
people enter this year’s event.
The challenge, which includes
run, walk or bike options,
ranging from 5km up to 35km
distances, also gives people a
local event to train toward.
He said 1500 people took part
in the 10­year anniversary event
and “it was busy” but the key was
knowing registration numbers
early and being prepared for the
day. Registrations open on
August 1.
More work needed at Rangitata corner
Anew intersection speed zone
on State Highway 1atRangitata
is aimed at preventing serious
crashes but locals and Rangitata
MP Andrew Falloon say more
work is needed.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport
Agency has installed electronic
signs that detect when someone
is turning into or out of State
Highway 79 and will temporarily
reduce the speed limit on SH1
from 100km/h to 60km/h.
The electronic signs are part
of apackage of work designed to
make the intersection safer.
Barrier arms were installed in
2019, the road shoulder on SH1
has been widened and an escape
bay installed for traffic caught on
the rail line.
Geraldine and Rangitata
locals campaigned for
improvements and met with Mr
Falloon,who took their
suggestions to the national
roading agency.
They sought to have the
turning bay for southbound
traffic turning on to SH29
lengthened, better and earlier
signage advising motorist of the
turnoff,wideningthe road to
include amerging lane for
northbound traffic turning into
State Highway 1and areduction
in the speed limit throughthe
Rangitata township either side
of the intersection.
“It’s positive that anumber of
those requested changes are
under way,” Mr Falloon said.
“Lengthening the turning bayis
badly neededaspreviously it has
filled up with just one milk
tanker or two campervans, which
is entirely inadequate when you
consider the trafficvolumes that
turn right southbound.
“A lot of the tourist traffic that
turns right to go to Mt Cook and
Queenstown are following GPS
and turn very late. More and
earlier signage is needed, and
I’m hopeful NZTA will install
that as part of the upgrade.”
He said while locals had
campaigned for apermanent
reduction in speed, at least
electronic signs like those in
Burnham wouldsee traffic
slowed when the intersection is
busy.
“At present some northbound
traffic turning on to State
Highway 1does so without
stopping, which has caused
accidents there in the past.’’