Web location..   www.RiversHB.nz /Ngaruroro/Ngaruroro-Expressway

Ngaruroro River - Expressway Bridge

The river  bed is well filled with shingle and the flood berm-flow areas are well filled with over-growth, which very much limits the river to carry the water it was designed to handle.

The Expessway bridge narrows the flood overflow from 410m wide down to 310m wide.

Restrictions in the river caused 11 stop bank spill-overs or breakthroughs and causing catastrophic flooding of settlements, permanent crop, process crop and business losses.

Gabrielle waters also flooded over the bridge leaving dead stock hanging in the guard rails.

The flood water could not get away downstream of the bridge.

Click here for  Expressway bridge. The yellow line by the bridge is 305m long (width).

How does this compare to the cost of keeping the river systems maintained to full design flood capability?

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