July storm road damage costs ratepayers $1.3 million

Work on repairing the storm-damaged 309 Road begins today but Thames-Coromandel District Council has advised that it will be closed to through traffic until the end of October.

The road is closed due to dropouts at Route Position (RP) 13.26km and 15.42km which are both on the eastern side of the main range.

The two late-July storm events caused at least three major slips as well as the two large dropouts on the 309 Road and it was the only road to be closed for more than a day as a result of the July storm damage, with reinstatement costs estimated at $213,500.

The total cost for initial response and to reinstate storm-damaged Council roading on the Coromandel Peninsula is estimated at $1.15 million, while local activity repairs have been estimated at $702,646. The total cost to Council after subsidy from the New Zealand Transport Agency will be nearly $1.3 million.

The initial response total cost was approximately $400,000. The northern part of Council’s road network was the worst affected by the storms, with Colville Road and The 309 Road the hardest hit, according to an Opus report tabled at the TCDC Service Delivery Committee meeting this week. Permanent reinstatement of storm damage on these two roads has an estimated combined price tag of approximately $450,000.