Crown range budget increased

Poor quality soil and swampy conditions has resulted in an increased budget for the 3.6 kilometre Royal Burn to Glencoe section of the Crown Range Road upgrade, Queenstown Lakes District Council roading manager Ian Marshall said.

The material found over a substantial section of the road and in unexpected locations had meant that a significant amount of unexpected undercutting had to be done.

“This will ensure the final result has left us with a full strength road surface that will be enduring on a stretch of road that has traditionally proved expensive to maintain,” Mr Marshall said.

The upgrade had increased in cost from $3.88 million to $4.31.

“We did look into whether sufficient investigation had been carried out on the section. It’s possible this would not have flagged the issue as the poor soil was found in totally unexpected locations,’ Mr Marshall said.

The money was able to be redirected from an upgrade scheduled for Malaghans Road, which had now been rescheduled to the following year.

ENDS

For further information please contact Ian Marshall 027 600 8807