Marlborough’s Mayor John Leggett today extended the local transition period from the region’s recent state of emergency caused by the 17 July storm for a further 28 days for several rural areas.

The notice of extension of the local recovery transition period, under Section 94D of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002, comes into effect at 12.21 pm today and expires at 12.20 pm on 20 October.

“I would like to acknowledge everyone involved in the recovery and subsequently all those who have been doing the hard yards, in particular our roading crews, as Marlborough continues to recover from the impacts of this major weather event,” said Mayor Leggett.

“Our amazing Marlborough communities, in particular those in the Marlborough Sounds, have helped each other through this difficult time. We thank them for their understanding and patience as the work continues to make our roading networks safe for residents to access.”

“Rest assured, everyone is working as hard as they can to get them connected again. However, the task ahead to return some Marlborough roads to the way they were is monumental. The mahi will continue to see this happen, the best we can,” he said.

The extension covers the following geographical areas:

• Awatere Valley Road to Molesworth Station and any associated side roads
• Queen Charlotte Drive from Havelock to Picton and any associated side roads
• Full length of Kenepuru Road and any associated side roads
• Northbank Road including Top Valley Road and any associated side roads
• Waihopai Road from the Avon Valley Road intersection to the top of the Waihopai Valley and any associated side roads

A Marlborough Roads Recovery Team (MRRT) has been stood up to work closely with the Marlborough District Council and Marlborough Roads, as teams continue to forge ahead clearing minor faults, slips and debris.

Significant progress has been made since the July weather event which caused the closure of an estimated 350km of road network across Marlborough. All roads have now been assessed for faults and through the response and recovery work to date there is now 55 km of closed road, 200 km of controlled access for residents only and 170 km of public access restored.

More than 50,000 cubic metres of soil and rock has been removed from slips so far. Early estimates predict more than 100,000 cubic metres of spill material will have been removed by the end of the clean-up.

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