06.05.12. Fulton Hogan Site Office sign, Union St
South New Brighton, SCIRT focus. Sun 06.05.12. SCIRT, Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team was formed post quakes to be "responsible for rebuilding horizontal infrastructure in Christchurch." (SCIRT website).
SCIRT consisted of Council / City Care & NZ National govt, NZ transport Agency & contractors like Downer & Fulton Hogan. Basically a NZ National govt monopoly which had taken over Council functions. Since the quakes, NZ National govt, through CERA, had taken over many Council functions, including seconded Council staff.
Estuary Rd, SCIRT signs:
Fulton Hogan Site Office
Infrastructure Rebuild...
Stronger
Christchurch
SCIRT: rebuilding the city's
roads and underground pipes...
06.05.12. SCIRT sign, Union St
Rodney St, protest poster, stuck on a green, plastic, sewage tank:
Cantabrians
Unite
* Fresh Mid-Term Elections
* Replace the CEO
Tony Marryatt
* Community Run Council
* Affordable Land / Housing
* Affordable rates
Protest Rally...
As Council was performing poorly under CERA's jackboot, public protests rumbled: Cantabrians Unite protest would be one of many protests in 2012.
06.05.12. Cantabrians Unite, protest sign, green, plastic, sewage tank. SCIRT sign behind, Union St / Rodney St
06.05.12. Post quakes, Union St house
It was frustrating for locals enduring SCIRT's sewer renewal cock-up in South New Brighton.
06.05.12. Post quakes, Estuary Rd house
06.05.12. Post quakes, Sewer Renewal sign, Estuary Rd north
06.05.12. Post quakes, detour sign, Estuary Rd north
06.05.12. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Road flooding due to sewer renewal, excavation pumping, Estuary Rd north
06.05.12. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Sewer renewal, red excavation pump flooding, Estuary Rd north
06.05.12. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel fence cordon. Post quakes, sewer renewal excavation by shops, Estuary Rd / Bridge St
During my Christchurch treks, I'd seen SCIRT workmen in suburbs digging road holes: digger machinery, men in hard hats & orange, Hi-Vis vests, equipment, orange, plastic, road cone cordons, traffic detours, the hole shebang.
06.05.12. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel fence cordon. Post quakes, sewer renewal excavation by shops, Estuary Rd / Bridge St
06.05.12. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel fence cordon. Sewer renewal, yellow excavation pump, Estuary Rd / Bridge St crossing
06.05.12. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel fence cordon. Shops affected by months of sewer renewal excavations, Estuary Rd / Bridge St
Luke's girlfriend lived in South New Brighton, Estuary Rd, near South New Brighton School. SCIRT dug up, closed, & dug up sewer renewal trenches on Estuary Rd for months. The place looked like WW1 trenches: mud, shingle, machinery, flooding, trashy, patched roads.
In the middle of Estuary Rd, there was a long, cordoned, excavated trench, with a series of curved, black plastic, pressure pipes on the side, joined to a bigger surface pipe, releasing underground water on the road surface for pumping away.
Estuary Rd warning signs:
SEWER
RENEWAL
SHOP
ACCESS
VIA
DETOUR
DETOUR
AHEAD
WRONG
WAY
30 km/h speed limit sign
Estuary Rd, traffic circle sign:
BRIDGE ST
BRIDGE
NO VEHICLES
OVER 3500 KG
It would be years before SCIRT completed repairs to Bridge St Bridge. Never mind repairs to other Avon River bridges.
06.05.12. Steel fence cordon. Post quakes, sewer renewal, yellow excavation pump, Bridge St / Estuary Rd crossing
06.05.12. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Steel shuttering protection for sewer trench, Bridge St east
06.05.12. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Red, road brush tractor, sewer renewal excavation, Estuary Rd south
06.05.12. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Sewer renewal pipes, Estuary Rd south
06.05.12. Sewer renewal pipes, blue portaloo, orange, shipping container, Estuary Rd south
As dad's taxi, whenever I drove that way, day & night, as Estuary Rd was turned into a one-way street by SCIRT diggers, I had to make a long detour along Southshore roads, before I could return N along Estuary Rd one-way to fetch / drop off Luke. Estuary Rd was a bumpy, potholed mess. It was impossible to park there, impossible for cars to pass, due to sewer renewal excavations in the middle of the road.
06.05.12. WRONG WAY. 30 km/h speed limit. Orange, plastic, road cones, orange, plastic, mesh cordon. Sewer renewal excavation, Estuary Rd south
06.05.12. Orange, plastic, road cones, orange, plastic, mesh cordon. Sewer renewal, yellow pump, orange digger, Estuary Rd south
06.05.12. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Sewer renewal, digger machines, road narrowing, Estuary Rd south
Shops at Estuary Rd / Bridge St crossing were almost bankrupted by the long SCIRT, sewer renewal excavations. Hundreds of orange, plastic, road cones & noisy machinery besieged shops, school & homeowners, while SCIRT workmen excavated quake-crapped, sewage pipes, laid new sewage pipes, filled in trenches, tore them up again, relaid pipes & filled in trenches again. Fulton Hogan engineers had cocked-up the measurements. (Weekend Press 05-06.04.12).
SCIRT "excellence" huh?
*Trekked Union St, Estuary Rd. 60 images.
06.05.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Orange digger, sewer renewal, Estuary Rd south
06.05.12. South New Brighton School entrance, affected by months of sewer renewal excavations, Estuary Rd south
06.05.12. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Sewer renewal, digger machines parked by South New Brighton School, Estuary Rd south
06.05.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Yellow pump, sewer renewal by South New Brighton School, Estuary Rd south
06.05.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Digger machines, sewer renewal by South New Brighton School, Estuary Rd south
06.05.12. Orange, plastic mesh fence cordon & steel shuttering protection, sewer renewal, Estuary Rd south
SCIRT's website:
"Owner participants
CERA, CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL, NZ Transport Agency
Non owner participants
city care, DOWNER, Fulton Hogan
MACDOW
FLETCHER
SCIRT mind set and values
*best for communities
*open to new ways and communities
*collectively we are stronger
*generous with trust
*Zero Harm
*developing our people
SCIRT behaviours
*listening actively
*having honest conversations
*working together
*having the courage to speak up
*leading by example & walking the talk
*striving for excellence"
As SCIRT website punctuation was crap, SCIRT had a long way to go to get anywhere near horizontal infrastructure excellence. At the expense of long-suffering Christchurch citizens.
The website gave smiley faces of 8 Board men & smiley faces of 8 Management men & 3 Management women, all wearing powder blue shirts & black leggings.
Were Board & Management on final warnings for the South New Brighton, sewer renewal cock-up?
Months later shops on the E side of Estuary Rd would be closed by Council engineers, as shop bldgs were deemed too dangerous, according to Council's post quake bldg code. Luke said the bldg owner closed the bldg, as he wasn't bothered to repair the bldg up to code. Easier & cheaper to close & demolish.
After SCIRT finished sewer renewal, SCIRT left Estuary Rd in a rutted, lumpy state with weak tarseal. I drove that way often & SCIRT's rotten road repairs annoyed me. SCIRT sloppiness was messing vehicle suspensions & tyres.
By that stage the E / W divide in Christchurch was obvious, especially road conditions, due to CERA's & Council's neglect. In the W, a week before schools reopened after summer holidays, Memorial Ave airport road, near my Burnside home, got a tarmac resurfacing near Burnside HS, while E suburban roads rotted.
For over a year from the airport to Hornby, Council four-laning road works continued along Russley Rd & Carmen Rd. Council revamped several traffic circle, road surfaces in Avonhead too.
Coda:
Jan-Mar 2013. That wasn't the end of excavations. SCIRT would dig up Estuary Rd again by South New Brighton School, to lay water pipes, cover with concrete & lay new concrete curb & asphalt pavement. Never mind inconveniencing locals with SCIRT "excellence" again.
Another SCIRT cock up: Rookwood Ave / Bowhill Rd circle was another place where SCIRT did more than one excavation. After pipe repair / replacement, SCIRT wasn't too careful about compacting soil properly, before resurfacing with asphalt. That caused SCIRT excavations to sink into asphalt covered potholes, leaving roads in worse cracked / potholed condition than quake damages.
So much for SCIRT's "walking the talk" & "striving for excellence."
"Best for communities" and "zero harm." HA!
By Nov 2013 my car brakes would be shot, due to increased use of my brakes on quake crapped & SCIRT crapped roads.
26.02.15. The Press would report Council saying that despite SCIRT infrastructure repairs till 2016, Christchurch roads would not be the same standard as pre quake roads for another 30 years. Mayor Dalziel said Council would budget $250m / p.a. for "horizontal infrastructure." (Whatever that meant?) In other words SCIRT repairs were crap & Christchurch citizens must endure quake & SCIRT crapped roads for 30 years. Asphalt repair patches soon wore out. Why did SCIRT contractors lay such poor quality asphalt?
Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
See Christchurch faces 30 more years of rough roads (The Press / Stuff Co).
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