$820,000 cyclone recovery funding for Western Bay
Several weather-damaged Western Bay roads have been given a funding boost, after being allocated $820,000 from the government’s Cyclone Recovery Capability Fund.
The funding will help progress remediation work on a number of roads damaged during severe weather events in January/February last year, including Kaiate Falls Road, Ngamuwahine Road, No. 3 Road, Oropi Road, Te Puke Quarry Road and Turner Road.
The funding covers geotechnical engineering ($485,000), planning ($200,000), and stormwater analysis and design ($135,000).
“We are already working on a number of roads that suffered damage in the same weather events, but this means we can now progress more sites,” says Sam Prendergast, Western Bay of Plenty District Council Project Engineer Transportation.
“Getting the funding will enable us to engage the necessary professional services and progress these designs in parallel with the other sites.”
Jo Lynskey, Council’s Team Lead Emergency Management, says the funding is “great news”.
“Our communities, in particular the primary sector, depend on a reliable and resilient road network. Support from Government for increasing capability for technical expertise and additional specialist skills to deliver these projects sooner than planned means we can speed up the resilience of our communities.”
The Cyclone Recovery Capability Fund was announced as part of Budget 2024 and was distributed to 12 councils, for 50 initiatives, to support recovery efforts following the severe weather events of 2023.
