The flood relief project was designed to improve the resilience of State Highway8, near Roxburgh, and protect the town’s water supply, following several flooding incidents in recent years.
Flooding in 2017 washed out the town’s water pumping station, leaving Roxburgh without water for days.
A recent Otago Regional Council study had identified four key culverts in the Roxburgh area which were no longer suitable to contain flood events.
NZTA Central Otago senior network manager Robert Choveaux said the culvert at Pumphouse Creek was the second of the four to be replaced.
The one-metre square culvert was replaced with one eight times larger, weighing in at between seven and 13 tonnes.
‘‘This one was prioritised due to the locality of the Central Otago District Council pump house station.’’
State Highway 8 was closed for eight days due to the size of the project and residents and motorists detoured via Lake Roxburgh Village.
The NZTA worked with locals around timing of the closure to limit disruption to orchards during peak fruit picking season.
It also timed the project to coincide with works being completed by Aurora Energy, to further limit delays.
The road was reopened once the culvert was in place and the final stages of work were completed earlier this month.