The Waitaki District Council will spend $45,000 on improving the stability of the Oamaru stone retaining walls in Severn St.
Repairs to about 30m of the wall, which is a major feature of the State Highway 1 southern entrance to the town, will include the removal of leaning sections, re-establishing drainage behind the wall, and the construction of a new stone block wall.
‘‘The current work on the Severn St retaining walls is part of our annual maintenance programme to improve the wall stability,'' council roading manager Michael Voss said.
‘‘We started in 2009 with the extensive replacement of the lower wall adjacent to the Severn St footpath and are now working up Severn St.''
Douglas Tce, which runs parallel to Severn St, will be closed intermittently from March 10 to 31 during the working day to allow repair vehicles to access the wall.
Steve McLeod Contracting and The Stone Man have been awarded the tender.
The retaining wall was built about 80 years ago by the Oamaru Beautifying Society, one of many projects it carried out around the town.