A message on the footpath warns pedestrians to go around a
container placed to support a subsiding stone wall in Smith
St, Dunedin. Photo by Peter McIntosh.
Work on repairing an old stone retaining wall that has
been leaning out into the street for more than a year in Smith
St, Dunedin, is expected to start within weeks.
Andrew Lane, the director of Night 'n Day Foodstores which
owns the property, said it had taken this long to get all the
structural reports, agreement between all parties, including
the Historic Places Trust, about how the wall should be
fixed, consents in place and contractors lined up.
It was now a matter of specialist workers becoming available,
but that was expected within the next few weeks.
It was finally agreed the breccia wall would not be wholly
replaced with breccia, but some of the stone would be placed
at either end.
The decision came down to cost in the end, as the company had
not been able to find funding from elsewhere to support the
repair, Mr Lane said.
The level of insurance received would depend on what was
found behind the wall.
''Hopefully, it will be straightforward.''
The footpath around the wall was blocked off in mid-December
2011, after the wall began to bulge.
- debbie.porteous@odt.co.nz
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