Extreme congestion on road
Authorities are diverting traffic down an unsealed road to ease the ‘‘extreme congestion’’ on either side of the Rangitata River.
Route 72 – the Inland Scenic Route – reopened in inland South Canterbury about midday on Monday after flooding closed all routes across the river on Saturday.
Authorities initially discounted using the unsealed Arundel Belfield Road to take pressure off traffic using the onelane bridge across the Orari River, just north of Geraldine. But they changed their minds on Monday afternoon.
Graders were called in to improve the road surface which was opened to traffic at 4pm.
‘‘We’re trying to do something to address the extreme congestion,’’ Timaru Civil Defence spokesperson Stephen Doran said.
‘‘Police will be manning key intersections, while council staff will also be assisting in guiding traffic.’’
Doran said the current approach will likely remain the same for at least a day or ‘‘as long as the situation demands it’’.
‘‘It’s not an ideal solution,’’ Doran said, referring to the rerouting of commuters through using the mostly unsealed road.
‘‘But it’s the best one we’ve got at the moment.’’
Doran said as the road was an active work site, extreme care was required, with a maximum allowable speed of 30kmh.
‘‘We are constantly reviewing the conditions.’’
Stuff visual journalist Chris Skelton, who was north of the bridge when it reopened, said traffic was backed up for kilometres and moving at a ‘‘snail’s pace’’.
Timaru resident, Teressa May, said she was stuck in traffic on the southern outskirts of Geraldine for two hours. The queue on the Winchester-Geraldine Rd was stretched as far back as StoneBridge Function Venue about 2 kilometres from the town’s business area and in the two hours since she only moved forward about 500 metres.
Police said two people suffered moderate injuries in a crash on the Winchester-Geraldine Rd. The crash happened about 500m north of the intersection of Coach, Tiplady and McKenzie roads.
NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) southern media manager Frances Adank said the crash was not holding up traffic, with delays through the area being caused by the ‘‘bottleneck’’ at the Orari bridge on the northern side of Geraldine. ‘‘There’s a massive backlog of people through there.’’
Doran, who had earlier said diversions for traffic would have been ‘‘logistically complex’’, says speed restrictions were in place.
Doran urged commuters to be patient and to delay their travels if they could.
‘‘We expect travel times between Timaru and Christchurch to be significantly longer than normal.
‘‘We would suggest travellers add at least an extra hour to their travel times, and expect delays.
‘‘There are very limited services on this route, please carry water and food for the trip.
Mid-South Canterbury area commander Inspector Dave Gaskin said police were helping with directing traffic crossing the Arundel bridge.
‘‘Police are helping with the road traffic movement on the road, at the request of Civil Defence Emergency Management.’’
Gaskin said about ‘‘half a dozen’’ officers were stationed on the south side of the bridge with more on the north side, though he was unsure of exact numbers.
REOPENING ‘FANASTIC’ FOR FARMERS
Fonterra general manager for operations at Clandeboye and Studholme, Steve McKnight, was just happy to have the bridge open and had his milk tanker fleet poised to cross the Arundel bridge as soon as it opened.
‘‘What that will mainly do is stop us from having to roll so much milk across the shifts,’’ McKnight said.
‘‘We’ve got 895 farms that supply milk in the central South Island but 170 had to be rolled from night shift [Sunday] to day shift [Monday], so we were picking their milk up 12 hours late.’’
Had the bridge remained closed, the number of farms needing to be rolled from one shift to the next would have increased to 249 – so news of its reopening was ‘‘fantastic’’, McKnight said.
Crews began repair work on Monday on the Timaru District Council-owned route 72 – the Inland Scenic Route – after overnight assessments found the bridge was structurally sound.
Timaru emergency operations controller, Tracy Tierney thanked the contractors who worked through the night to get the vital link road restored.
‘‘As this road is likely to be the only north to south link over the next few days it will be very busy. We recommend that if you can delay non-urgent travel, you should do so.
‘‘This will still be an active work site, so for worker and general safety please be patient, follow all signs and instructions and keep your speed down.
‘‘Thanks for everyone’s patience.’’
NZ Transport Agency system manager Pete Connors said the bridge across State Highway 1 would remain closed overnight Monday and be assessed this morning.
Timaru District Council building and welfare staff have begun initiating support and assessments to ensure people can stay in their homes safely, identifying any needs they may have and answering any building related queries.
EXTRA FLIGHT
Before route 72 reopened, an Air New Zealand spokeswoman said an extra flight from Timaru to Wellington was added on Monday to meet demand from people wanting to get across the flooded river. It had sold out and all flights today were also sold out. The next available flight was at 11.55am on Wednesday.
MP THANKS
Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean has praised Civil Defence, TDC staff and contractors for their tireless work.
‘‘Their efforts have been aided by the generosity of accommodation providers and residents in places like Geraldine who’ve opened their doors and gone out of their way to help others,’’ Dean said.
‘‘My heart also goes out to the farmers whose land has been submerged in water. After a testing year, this is the last thing they needed and support for them will be crucial in the coming weeks.
Dean said the ‘‘ripple effect’’ of this severe weather event is being felt right across the region.