Rangitāiki-Tarawera Rivers Scheme

2023-03-06 - Weekly update

Works on the Rangitāiki – Tarawera Rivers Scheme for the week 6 March to 10 March 2023.

See a map of all the work happening this week on our River Schemes.

If you want to discuss any of these works further, please contact the responsible person on 0800 884 880.

2023-02-27 - Weekly update

Works on the Rangitāiki – Tarawera Rivers Scheme for the week 27 February to 3 March 2023.

See a map of all the work happening this week on our River Schemes.

If you want to discuss any of these works further, please contact the responsible person on 0800 884 880.

2023-02-20 - Weekly update

Works on the Rangitāiki – Tarawera Rivers Scheme for the week 20 February to 24 February 2023.

See a map of all the work happening this week on our River Schemes.

If you want to discuss any of these works further, please contact the responsible person on 0800 884 880.

2023-01-23 - Weekly update

Works on the Rangitāiki – Tarawera Rivers Scheme week 23 January to 27 January 2023.

See a map of all the work happening this week on our River Schemes.

If you want to discuss any of these works further, please contact the responsible person on 0800 884 880.

2023-01-16 - Weekly update

Works on the Rangitāiki – Tarawera Rivers Scheme week 16 January to 20 January 2023.

See a map of all the work happening this week on our River Schemes.

If you want to discuss any of these works further, please contact the responsible person on 0800 884 880.

2023-01-12 - Construction update: Disruption on McCracken and McLean Roads

Construction update: Disruption on McCracken and McLean Roads

Bay of Plenty Regional Council will begin construction for the final stage of the Rangitāiki Floodway in March 2023.

The Rangitāiki Floodway is a key piece of flood defence infrastructure to help protect the lives and livelihoods of the community.

In a flood event, the Rangitāiki Floodway is designed to take pressure off the Rangitāiki River by diverting some of its flow (via a Spillway) into near-by farmland between stopbanks and out the Rangitāiki River mouth at Thornton.

What’s happening?

The construction process involves installing swing gates (heavy duty steel flood barriers) at two sites along the Rangitāiki Floodway:

• Site one: Two sets on McCracken Road (located between Hydro Road and Western Drain Road, Edgecumbe)
  
• Site two: Two sets on McLean Road (located between East Bank Road and Western Drain Road, Edgecumbe)
  

When the Floodway is activated, these swing gates will have two functions: They will act as a barrier on the road, keeping the community from entering a flood zone, and maintain the stopbank height of the Floodway, creating a channel that helps send water out to the Rangitāiki River mouth.

When not in use, the gates are locked open, allowing uninterrupted traffic flow.

How might this impact you?

Construction is due to begin in March 2023 and each site is expected to take approximately seven weeks.

During construction, road closures will be in place around the swing gate site and there will be no through traffic. Residents will be able to access their homes, however detours will be in place to travel to and from McLean and McCracken Roads.

We will keep you updated on construction and road closures via this project page.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Project Lead Niroy Sumeran on engineering@boprc.govt.nz or 0800 884 880.

Thank you for your patience during this time.

2022-12-19 - Weekly update

Works on the Rangitāiki – Tarawera Rivers Scheme week 19 December to 23 December 2022.

See a map of all the work happening this week on our River Schemes.

If you want to discuss any of these works further, please contact the responsible person on 0800 884 880.

2022-12-12 - Weekly update

Works on the Rangitāiki – Tarawera Rivers Scheme week 12 December to 16 December 2022.

See a map of all the work happening this week on our River Schemes.

If you want to discuss any of these works further, please contact the responsible person on 0800 884 880.

2022-12-09 - Construction on College Road floodwall begins

Works are underway to upgrade the floodwall along College Road in Edgecumbe township.

This section of floodwall is the final stage of Bay of Plenty Regional Council Toi Moana’s work to upgrade floodwalls downstream of the Edgecumbe College breach site, as part of the Rangitāiki River Floodwalls project.

Whakatāne contractor, Tracks Concrete Ltd, moved into the site on Tuesday, December 6, and will use the coming weeks to set up access points to the stopbank.

In conjunction with the floodwall upgrade, additional tree removal and vegetation clearance is taking place along the upstream section of the Rangitāiki River Walkway under routine maintenance.

This is being done so the stopbank can be repaired and strengthened, and continue to protect the community. Stopbanks are only as strong as their weakest link and are vulnerable to damage caused by vegetation (such as trees), which can cause potential seepage issues.

Works are expected to pause around Tuesday, December 20 through to Monday, January 16, to reduce the impact of construction noise and vibrations on the community over the Christmas / New Year’s period.

Please note, the Rangitāiki River Walkway will remain closed until the project is complete (approximately April / May 2023). A detour is in place along the College Road footpath.

The Rangitāiki River Floodwalls project is one of six ‘shovel ready’ projects Regional Council received funding for as part of Central Government’s Crown Infrastructure Funding.

If you have any questions or concerns during the construction period, please direct them to engineering@boprc.govt.nz or 0800 884 880.

2022-12-05 - Weekly update

Works on the Rangitāiki – Tarawera Rivers Scheme week 5 December to 9 December 2022.

See a map of all the work happening this week on our River Schemes.

If you want to discuss any of these works further, please contact the responsible person on 0800 884 880.

2022-01-14 - Investigations on Tarawera River

We will be undertaking geotechnical investigations on the Tarawera River between the river mouth and Braemar Springs next week.

These investigations are part of our efforts to understand more about the condition of our flood defences below the surface.

The work is focused on finding out the soil composition and ground stability and the results will be used to determine what needs to happen next.

Flood protection is expensive and one of the main issues our Council is facing is balancing the cost to ratepayers while maintaining and upgrading this infrastructure to keep up with the changes in our climate. We are constantly looking at different ways to protect and manage this in the decades to come, while minimising impacts on the environment.

We have completed an archaeological assessment which guides us in protecting the cultural heritage of the area and we thank local residents for their understanding as we undertake these important flood protection investigations.

2021-11-15 - Work recommencing on Rangitāiki Floodway

We are recommencing work on the Rangitāiki Floodway project on the outskirts of Edgecumbe in the section located between SH2 and Mclean’s Road.

Please take extra care on the roads around the site, we’ll be taking extra care too.

We're doing this work to improve how water travels down the floodway which will reduce the pressure on the Rangitāiki River stopbanks during large flood events.

2021-10-12 - Progress on the Thornton School Floodwall

We are making good progress on replacing three concrete floodwalls on the Rangitāiki River to ensure they continue to help protect our communities from flooding in the coming decades.

We’ve now finished most of the work at the East Bank Road site near Thornton School after completing the Greig Road stopbank earlier in the year.

Conversations with affected landowners are continuing at the remaining site - 87-109 College Road - with work expected to begin in the new year.