Rebuild Programme
This page has information about Council’s horizontal infrastructure rebuild. The rebuild covers our roads, bridges, and three waters networks (stormwater, wastewater and drinking water). The Rebuild has been delivered on budget and on time, the only outstanding project is the Waiau Toa/Clarence River, restoring access that was destroyed in the 2016 earthquake. 95% funded by Waka Kotahi NZTA.
The Rebuild programme was completed over four years with minimal overruns. We used a phased approach to rebuild a few assets at a time, restoring infrastructure to at least pre-earthquake levels of service.
Clarence Valley Access
The Clarence Valley access project is one of the most complex and challenging projects in the rebuild programme.
Access to the south side of the Clarence Valley was lost following the 2016 earthquake. The single lane 130m long Glen Alton Bridge across the Clarence River completely collapsed and was swept away. As a result of the earthquake and fault movements the river has changed course below the bridge site. Significant land area has been eroded by the river and emergency rock protection work was undertaken by Council last year to protect the Clarence Valley Road on the north side of the valley.
A temporary road access solution has been put in place to the south side of the valley. The Waipapa and Waiautoa Roads on the south bank have been extended and upgraded to a temporary four-wheel drive standard, referred to as the Southern Access Route or SAR.
The SAR remains reliant on being able to cross the unstable Wharekiri Stream ford. Temporary closures of the SAR occur during wet weather events to ensure the safety of all road users. Residents are notified of closures/openings using established procedures. Council has engaged geotechnical specialists to design and supervise remedial works on road instability through the “Blue Slip” area between the Wharekiri ford and Waiautoa Road.
At its meeting on 28 August 2019, Council identified a new Bailey bridge and road connections downstream of the previous bridge as its current preferred option for further work and investigation. The bridge would be located at the present end of the Clarence Valley Road at the toe of Jacob Hill, with a new Bailey bridge crossing the main active channel of the Clarence River. A new road and permanent engineered ford across the old main river channel would link to the south side of the Clarence River. The Bailey bridge option would provide crossing of normal road/highway “Class 1” traffic loads.
In December 2019 Council gained NZTA approval to progress this option and to extend the Agency’s 95% funding assistance to complete the project. The indicative capital cost estimate for the preferred option is $12.6m. The final decision by Council about progressing the project was made after formal public consultation as part of the 2020/2021 Annual Plan in mid-2020.
Council will fund $610,000 or 5% of the total cost of the $12.2M project. The rest of the amount (95%) will be funded by the New Zealand Transport Authority (NZTA).
Council is currently planning the next phase including a work schedule, confirmation of the final bridge design and road alignment in consultation with landowners directly affected.
Lyell Creek Sewer
The wastewater system which ran along Lyell Creek was severely damaged in the 2016 earthquake. Extensive work has been carried out to not just replace the sewer line, but future proof it by installing a pressure wastewater system along Beach Road. This has created resilient infrastructure and protected Lyell Creek from any future pipeline damage.
The previous system had relied on gravity to move wastewater to the main pipeline. The new pressure sewer collection system allows for wastewater to be pumped uphill from the underground tanks installed in private properties to the new wastewater main along Beach Road. The new system includes a pumping unit inside the tank, an electrical supply, control panel and a pressure lateral with an isolation kit at the boundary (that looks similar to a toby box). Not every house has a tank on their property, however each house on Beach Road north of Hawthorne Road is connected to the new system.
The project involved replacing about 1.6 km of sewer from the Hawthorne Road pump station to the Mill Road pump station. Construction was completed in the 2019/2020 financial year.
Total Cost $7.3M (funded: 73% government and 27% Council)
Fulton Hogan Ltd carried out these works.
Bridges
Six of our local bridges required a full replacement after the 2016 earthquake. The work on Hawthorne Rd, Evans and Wards 2 (both on Mt Fyffe Rd), Rorrisons Rd, Gillings Lane and Scotts Road bridges was done as a package to help ensure value for money and high quality work. Physical works are now complete.
Minor repairs were also required on fourteen bridges around the district, these works are now complete.
6 Bridges (replacement) - Total Cost $5.5 million (funded: 91% New Zealand Transport Authority, NZTA and 9% Council)
14 Bridges (repair) – Total Cost $1.9 million (funded 95% NZTA and 5% Council)
Concrete Structures Ltd (CSL) was awarded the design and build contract to replace 6 bridges.
Isaac Construction carried out the repair work on 14 bridges.
Aeration lagoon, Wastewater Treatment Plant
The aeration lagoon at Kaikōura’s wastewater treatment plant collapsed in the 2016 earthquake. It was rebuilt with a new lagoon, north of the original site. New aerators were installed. Isaac Construction Ltd was awarded this contract. Physical works are now complete.
Total Cost $3.2 million (funded: 68% government and 32% Council)
Isaac Construction Ltd was awarded this contract. Physical works are now complete.
Programme information
Our funding partners are New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and Central Government, represented by the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management (MCDEM) and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC). Together alongside Council they make up the Rebuild Steering Group that provides key guidance to the Rebuild Programme.
Council’s contribution to the rebuild cost is loan funded. The loans are long term, allowing Council to spread the cost of the rebuild to ratepayers over 30 years.
Rebuild Programme costs will be shared as follows:
Roading and structures-
- NZTA will fund 95% of the costs of all eligible earthquake related local roading and bridge repairs
- KDC and it's insurers will fund the remaining 5%.
Three Waters-
- MCDEM will cover 60% of eligible water, stormwater and wastewater infrastructure costs
- MCDEM have committed an additional $2.2million of funding towards the other 40%
- KDC and its insurers will fund the remaining balance
- Council has also secured additional funding of $2.4million from the Crown for betterment in the three waters space (to build back specific areas of the three waters to a more resilient state than pre-quake).
Community Facilities-
- KDC and it's insurers will cover all of the community facilities costs.
Good planning is critical to make sure we end up with value for money and fit for purpose quality infrastructure.
Our planning included:
1. Mapping the infrastructure system
We mapped all the information we had to help improve our understanding of the earthquake’s impact. Building inspections, engineering assessments, land movement, and water and wastewater network assessments were overlaid onto maps to look for patterns of damage.
This helped identify trouble areas, plan what to do first and where the most work is needed and explain our operations to insurers and central government.
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Figure 1 Finding repair hotspots. The more repairs there are in an area, the larger and brighter the dot. |
Figure 2 Sewer network inspections. Sewer manhole and pipe inspections colour-coded according to the damage found during the inspection. |
2. Checking our roads
Completing surveys of all the roads in our district and identifying all earthquake related faults and damage.
3. Checking our pipes
CCTV and leak detection work to confirm the extent of damage to the wastewater and water supplies.
4. Planning for the long term
We're aiming to restore infrastructure and facilities to pre-earthquake levels of service. Where time and costs allow we’ve planned to ‘build back better’, restoring infrastructure to more resilient levels than pre-earthquake by using modern materials and building to modern standards. We’ve also planned to meet or exceed our legal obligations and financial responsibilities.
Useful links
20 July 2020
