The 38 high-priority structures were identified through last year's inspections. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
In Carterton, 38 bridges and culverts have been categorised as "high priority" for repair.
But the funding available in this year's council budget is only enough to fix one bridge needing urgent repair.
At Wednesday's Policy and Projects Committee meeting, Carterton District Council's roading manager Graham Carson said the most important bridge in the network that urgently needed fixing was Arawhakatu Bridge on Norfolk Rd.
"We've had an estimated cost to repair that bridge of $350,000," he told councillors.
"In this year's budget, I only have $363,000 and I have 38 high-priority bridges [and culverts] that need repair, so I can just fix one."
Of the 38 structures identified as high priority, four were categorised as urgent.
In his report, Carson said the previous consultant who had done the inspection report recommended that urgent items be addressed immediately and high priority items be completed within approximately one year.
Carson said bridges in the council's roading network went through six-year cycles of principal inspections, general inspections and maintenance inspections.
The 38 high-priority structures were identified through last year's inspections.
"We are currently not making headway with the list of issues we have," he told councillors.
"Our bridges are dire and if we don't do something quick we will be stopping milk tankers to farms, stock trucks to farms, and so on."
Carterton council chief executive Geoff Hamilton said the level of investment in bridges would be tabled as part of Long-Term Plan (LTP) discussions for the incoming council.
"This [last] LTP, we considered pavement rehabilitation and council will recall that we moved our pavement rehabilitation budget from around 0.3 percent to around 1 percent rehabilitation and we may want to consider what we do in regards to our structures in the transportation budgets when we consider our next cycle of planning," he said.
"Our asset management plans will certainly inform those budgets and that discussion we have at council."
Carson said the next round of asset inspections would be done between now and Christmas.
"I don't want to make things any worse... but that list of 38 will grow by December."
A Carterton District Council spokesperson said bridges were just one part of the wider infrastructure network, which also included roads, water, wastewater and stormwater.
"Most of Carterton's bridges were built in the same few decades of the last century, with very limited replacement investment since then," the spokesperson said.
"As a result, like many councils across New Zealand, we now face the challenge of maintaining and renewing ageing structures that are reaching the end of their useful life.
"This is not unique to Carterton - it reflects a nationwide issue where smaller councils, with relatively small rating bases, must maintain critical but expensive assets."
The council's 2024-2034 LTP had set aside a budget of $1.49 million over 10 years for "structures component replacement".
This was the funding line specifically for bridges, large culverts, and other major roading structures.
Annual allocations range from $131,000 in 2024/25 up to $166,000 in 2033/34.
"This level of investment, while prudent within our financial capacity, remains modest compared to the overall renewal need identified in the roading network," the council spokesperson said.
According to the LTP, Carterton managed 49 bridges as part of its transport asset base.
The optimised depreciated replacement cost of bridges alone was estimated at $18.2 million.
Carterton District Council shared a roading service with South Wairarapa District Council, named Ruamāhanga Roads, which enabled the councils to pool expertise, secure efficiencies and co-ordinate renewal priorities across the two districts.
"Balancing this level of need against affordability for our community is a core challenge," the council spokesperson said.
"We continue to work closely with Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency to secure subsidies - currently set at 51 percent - for roading renewals, but the reality is that smaller councils like Carterton cannot address these pressures without a mix of local rates, subsidies and careful prioritisation."
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
