GEORGE HEARD/STUFF
Drone footage shows full extent of the damage to the Waiho Bridge, near Franz Josef on the West Coast, in March 2019.
A proposal to buy out flood-prone farming land at Franz Josef and move the state highway away from the Waiho River will be put before the Government. The West Coast Regional Council sees the project as a longer term solution to the town’s hazards than building more stopbanks. It would involve 2500 hectares of private land with a capital value of $30 million. The Government announced on Wednesday that it would release $12m for new stopbanks along the northern banks of the flood-prone Waiho River.