Residents in a remote part of the Marlborough Sounds devastated by July’s storm will finally have access to their roads from the end of November.
The area was hit by a huge amount of rain which caused significant issues to the roading network, including hundreds of slips and areas where the bank and road were almost entirely washed away. It was thought to be a one in one hundred year storm.
The Marlborough District Council announced on Wednesday that residential access will be possible on Kenepuru Rd, and connecting roads, from November 30th. That’s slightly earlier than originally signalled.
Marlborough Mayor John Leggett says it’s been a massive event for the region to recover from, describing Wednesday's news as an early Christmas present.
“We know it has been extremely hard for our Sounds and Awatere Valley communities and this is really good news. I want to thank them for the resilience and patience they have shown while the roading recovery team have put in the hard yards to make this happen.”
July saw extensive and severe flooding in Marlborough, devastating the region's roads. (Source: Other)
Since July, some Kenepuru Sounds residents have told 1News they’ve been frustrated by the lack of work on the roads and the poor communication from the council.
There’s still no word yet on when public access to the area will be restored, but it will be reviewed in the New Year. Meaning the usually pumping summer spot will likely be much quieter this year.
Andrew James, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s top of the south system manager, says opening up the roads needs to be done gradually. James says he understands there may be some disappointment about the lack of public access over the summer period.
“Providing safe access for residents is a priority for us. We want to make sure that the people who really need access can get it safely, while we keep on rebuilding the severely damaged roads.”
There will also be three weeks over the holiday period where the Awatere Valley Road will have limited public access.
SHARE ME