QLDC says 'mistakes happen' on new $135,000 arterial road error

The Queenstown Lakes District Council has explained a $135,000 error by arterial road contractors as "mistakes happen".

The council has also told Crux that the failure of contractors to bury pipes to the correct depth is to be treated as part of QLDC's financial risk - not the roading contractors. 

Residents and businesses close to the 'road to nowhere' Queenstown CBD construction project were told this week of a "construction error where design drawings were not ready correctly".

The fix requires extra night work to take place later this month.

The roading alliance stakeholder manager Layla Kashanian told residents in an email this week:

"This work follows recent quality assurance testing where it was identified that some of the pipes had not been laid at the required depth.

"The work will involve saw cutting asphalt, exposing a three-metre length of three wastewater laterals and lowering the pipes by approx. one metre.

"This was a construction error where design drawings were not read correctly. The cost of this work is approximately $135,000 and will be covered by QLDC as part of the current project budget."

Ms Kashanian confirmed to Crux that the details of the email were correct but she could not comment on whether the $135,000 comes out of a QLDC contingency fund or is a new cost. 

The following statement was made to Crux by the QLDC:

"While both QLDC and the Alliance are unhappy this has occurred, mistakes do happen and we have been open about that.

"This is a complex piece of work involving a considerable number of services and connections across Frankton Road, and it’s important we get it right to avoid rework in the future.  

"Regarding the costs of remediating this issue, as we’ve said this comes out of the current QLDC budget for the project. A key feature of the Alliance delivery model is a risk-share arrangement. This means that some risks are shared amongst all Alliance participants, others are the non-owner Alliance participants, and some – as in this situation – are a QLDC risk.

"The risk-share / ownership is negotiated through the Project Alliance Agreement."

Stage 1 of the arterial project is already massively over budget at $128 million for just 670 metres of road. There is no funding for stages two and three of the arterial project earning it the 'road to nowhere'' title with no clear purpose or destination.

Read: Arterial worker sacked over asbestos warning

Read: Arterial road whistleblower: cover ups, incompetence and QLDC tantrums