After being flattened in a nighttime crash, a concrete shed that housed a wastewater pump station in the Wood is being replaced with a cabinet.
A vehicle damaged the building that housed elements of a pump station on the corner of Sovereign and Weka Streets beyond repair in late March.
Rather than rebuilding the pump station as it was – in a shed – the above-ground infrastructure for the pump station will be housed in a metal electrical cabinet.
That approach is not unusual, with several other control panel structures already being housed in cabinets across the city.
Construction began on Tuesday and will involve laying a new concrete pad with the new control panel structure being installed on the same site as the old shed.
The repair cost is $200,000, with $50,000 relating to the response after the crash to ensure the pump station kept running and the remaining $150,000 for the rebuild.
Nelson City Council has confirmed that it will be claiming insurance.
The March crash only damaged the control panels and the building that housed them, and left the underground pumps themselves undamaged.
This meant the pump station was able to operate as normal soon after the crash, and that the council dodged a potential multi-million dollar rebuild.
Tāhunanui’s Awatea pump station cost $14 million and the upcoming upgrade of the Paru Paru pump station is expected to cost $23 million.
The original Sovereign/Weka Street pump station was built in 1979 and has always been positioned in the middle of the road.
Complaints about driver behaviour and limited sightlines in 2014 prompted the council to adjust the road layout, with Sovereign Street’s entrance shifted to the west side of the pump station, and bollards installed to close the eastern side to traffic.
