REMOVING FLOOD DANGER

Southland Times, Issue 23444, 26 February 1938, Page 6

REMOVING FLOOD DANGER

New Bridge Across Oreti River COUNTY COUNCIL WILL CONTRIBUTE £l5OO A step further in the proposal to erect a new bridge, 1000 feet long, over the Oreti river at the Iron Bridge was taken by the Southland County Council at its meeting yesterday. It agreed to contribute £l5OO towards the cost of the bridge, a payment of £750 to be made to the Main Highways Board in the 1938-39 financial year and the balance in the 1939-40 year. The new bridge will cost £18,500 and the work will be carried out by the Main Highways Board. The flooding of the Oreti river at the Iron Bridge, on the InvercargillRiverton road, has caused the Southland County Council considerable concern for a number of years, and it is expected that the construction of a bridge 1000 feet in length, with stop banks in addition, will overcome the flood danger. It is proposed to erect stop banks both upstream and downstream to confine the flood flow, and to make sufficient channel enlargement to pass floods of 3000 cusecs under the bridge. BAY ROAD BRIDGE The new bridge to be erected over the Oreti river on the Bay road route to Oreti Beach was also discussed in a letter received from the Minister of Public Works (the Hon. R. Semple). Noting that the council had accepted his offer for the construction in permanent materials of a new bridge over the Oreti, the Minister Said he appreciated the council’s embarrassment in having a supply of hardwood timber left on its hands, but said that pending final approval for the monetary authority, the council’s action in purchasing the material was entirely on its own initiative. He suggested that the hardwood timber already procured could be usefully employed by the council on its ordinary maintenance works, and possibly some of the longer lengths might be gradually taken over to fill the department’s requirements where hardwood timber was used.

The Public Works Department will build the bridge, and the council’s contribution towards the cost will be £l4OO. It will be a one-way concrete bridge. The council had decided to erect the bridge in timber but the Public Works Department would not agree to this.