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Last modified: 02 Nov 2021 8:23am

A digger clearing a slip on Malvern Hills Road

More than 500 kilometres of Selwyn roads and 14 bridges have been repaired since being severely damaged by flooding earlier this year.

The flooding in late May saw significant damage to roads and bridges around the district.

Council roading contractor HEB has completed over 90% of the repairs, with a small amount of work remaining in the high country due to be completed this month and some additional repairs planned for the Leeston Bridge and Whitecliffs Bridge. The total repairs will cost around $6 million when completed.

HEB Contract Manager Almero Du Pisani says the team of over 80 staff and contractors had carried out 55,000 hours of hard work to repair 570 kilometres of road.

They shifted over 120,000 cubic metres of material that had been washed onto the roads or damaged and removed more than 50 uprooted trees. It wasn’t just the flooding in May, but a series of challenges that saw the crews working in all weathers to get the roading network back into shape, he says.

“The various flooding, snow and wind events we faced this winter in Selwyn caused widespread damage across the network, which added to the complexity and challenges from the ‘main event’ in May.

"Our team worked collaboratively with the Council and our key trading partners to ensure public safety was top priority during the flood event and access was reinstated as swiftly as possible to the flood damaged community.”

Council Infrastructure Group Manager Murray Washington said it had been a mammoth effort

“We saw some great work from our roading and water teams before, during the floods, and in the aftermath to get the essential systems running again. The teams have kept going, working hard to get things repaired and built better for the long-term. We’re really grateful for the dedication of the HEB crews and contractors who faced the impacts of the floods in their own lives as residents and have done a really great job.”