Weston's streets and footpaths have undergone a transformation under a $165,000 project by the Waitaki District Council which is nearly complete.
Not only has the township's appearance benefited from the upgrading of many footpaths, kerbing and chanelling, the work has also improved safety, particularly for children.
''It's now looking good and tidy,'' Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher, who lives in Weston, said with some pride, at the same time joking it was not for his benefit.
''I still don't have a footpath outside my place,'' he said with a laugh.
The town used to have a lot of streets without formed or sealed footpaths and kerbing and channelling.
At times over the years various projects had been costed out, but not gone ahead.
However, a decision was made last year to combine all the projects to make it more cost-effective and contract it out in one lump.
A surplus built up in the Weston amenity rate account, along with a loan, funded the work.
Work started in May and is almost complete.
''The aim was to see what we could get with the money we had. We ended up with a good price and chose the option that gave us the best bang for our buck,'' Mr Kircher said.
Even then, contractor SouthRoads was able to get a bit more work done than first envisaged.
The result was a good network of footpaths, improved property crossings where needed, better stormwater disposal with kerbing and channelling.
Not all streets have been improved, with the focus on high-use areas such as around the school and links to the Alps 2 Ocean cycle and walkway into Oamaru.
Most had footpaths installed on one side to make the money go as far as possible.
Weston Project
Expected total cost $165,000.
Spent so far $136,000.
Footpaths $56,000Kerb and channel $44,761Other works: Drainage, topsoil, timber edging, earthworks, parking bay in Essex St, and extra fill.
