The Christchurch City Council has closed a main thoroughfare in the earthquake damaged red-zone in a bid to stop ongoing flooding.
The section of New Brighton Road has been closed. Photo: RNZ / Rachel Graham
A portion of Christchurch's New Brighton Road, near Pages Road, has been closed to traffic to allow for a widened stopbank.
Council manager of land drainage Ramon Strong said stopbanks built along this area of the Avon River after the earthquakes were supposed to be only a temporary measure.
"The stopbank had been supported by a series of concrete blocks along there, but we were getting quite a bit of leakage coming through those blocks. So the concrete blocks have been removed and the stop bank has been fully widened out to a profile that is much more appropriate for its purpose."
He said that meant the stop bank now extended out on to the road. That portion of the road is now shut to motorists, but can be used by pedestrians and cyclists.
Mr Strong said the Government's decision on the future use of the red zone would determine whether the road remained closed permanently.
Ryan Cooney, manager of the Christchurch transport operations centre, said the road was still well used despite its poor condition as it was a direct line through the area.
He said decisions about closing a road were made after weighing up a combination of perspectives.
Mr Cooney said one other thoroughfare, River Road, was temporarily closed due to its condition, and several roads zone had limited access.
He said the council was essentially holding infrastructure within the red zone in a temporary state to minimise costs while they waited for decisions to be made about the areas' long term use.
