Southland
Major flood protection work has begun on the Mataura River at Gore's road and rail bridge crossing as part of a $50 million flood resilience programme across Southland.
Environment Southland launched the project this week, marking the first construction work under the latest round of government co-funding for flood protection in the region.
"We're thrilled to continue to partner with the Government to deliver this critical work for our communities," said Environment Southland Chair Jeremy McPhail.
The Gore bridge work is part of the $18 million Mataura River Flood Resilience Project, with central government contributing 60% ($10.8 million) and Environment Southland covering the remaining $7.2 million.
Crews will remove around 23,500 cubic metres of gravel and sediment across five targeted areas covering about one kilometre of river. Engineering assessments show this could increase flood flow capacity through the area by about 13 percent.
The work focuses on the tightest parts of the river system to improve water flow and reduce how high and how long water levels sit upstream during floods, which reduces pressure on existing flood infrastructure.
"This project combines practical engineering improvements and careful planning across the catchment with the aim of reducing the threat of flooding for communities in Gore, Mataura, and the surrounding areas," McPhail said.
Detailed design work identified the Gore bridge location as a key bottleneck in the river system. During major floods, water moves into this section faster than it can pass through the bridge opening, causing water levels to rise upstream through parts of Gore and stay elevated longer.
The broader Mataura project includes targeted infrastructure improvements, better flood intelligence with river and rainfall monitoring, flood modelling, and planning for long-term flood risk reduction across the entire catchment.
"In the next three months, we'll be starting to develop a plan for the whole Mataura River catchment in partnership and with input from the community, blending engineered and nature-based solutions. This will reduce flood risks to our communities well into the future," McPhail said.
"Environment Southland has a proven record of delivering flood improvement projects and the Government and Gore and Mataura communities can trust us to get the job done," he said.
The current flood infrastructure co-investment across Southland now totals nearly $50 million since 2020.
Environment Southland is also progressing flood protection work in the Oreti catchment and will assess Invercargill's Otepuni flood bank to strengthen the city's flood protection network.
The Gore bridge works are expected to take around four months, weather permitting. The project is co-funded through the Government's Regional Infrastructure Fund.