Northland news in brief: New bridge for Far North; and more Lotto luck

The current Papakawau Culvert on State Highway 10 south of Mangonui, as seen from above, will be replaced with a new $5 million bridge.

Restoring the natural marine environment around State Highway 10 south of Mangonui is a key part of a project which will see a 50-year-old culvert replaced with a bridge designed to increase tidal flows. The $5m Papakawau Culvert Replacement project is funded through the Government's shovel ready Crown Infrastructure Partners (CIP) programme. Work is expected to take approximately six months. It's set to create employment opportunities for Northlanders with NZTA's contractor Fulton Hogan looking to use local quarry and traffic management companies. The project's vision is rehabilitation of Aputerewa Creek's upper estuary ecological function.

Logging truck crash probed

Police are investigating the cause of a fatal single-vehicle crash in Broadwood in which a logging truck rolled. One of the truck's occupants died at the scene of the crash, south of Kaitaia between Grounds Rd and Paponga Rd, around 8.30am on Monday. A second person with moderate injuries was taken by ambulance to Kaitaia Hospital. The Serious Crash Unit and Commercial Vehicle Safety Team examined the scene yesterday as part of an investigation into the circumstances of the crash.

Lighter evenings coming

Daylight saving will begin at 2am on Sunday when the clocks are put forward an hour.
Daylight saving will end when the clocks are put back an hour at 3am on Sunday, 3 April 2022. During the daylight saving months we are on "New Zealand daylight time", which is one hour ahead of New Zealand standard time.

Lotto winners

Twelve lucky Lotto players will be celebrating - including those that bought tickets from Kaitaia and My Lotto Northland - after each winning $22,616 with Lotto second division in Saturday night's draw. The winning second division tickets were sold at several stores around the country, including Pak'n Save in Kaitaia. Three lucky players also won Powerball second division, taking their total winnings to $28,726. These tickets were sold at Cromwell New World in Cromwell and on MyLotto to players from Northland and Auckland. The winning numbers were 6, 15, 18, 19, 21 and 32, with Bonus number 23 and Powerball 1.

Business Excellence Awards

Face to face judging will soon be under way in the NorthChamber Northland Business Excellence Awards. Convenor of judges and BDO Whangarei Director Greg Atkins says four teams of judges will interview entrants in the 2021 Awards over multiple categories. Pleasingly, local businesses entered are from Kaipara, Whangarei and Far North Districts.
While the planned October 29 Awards ceremony will now be held on February 18 due to the latest Covid lockdown, the delay enables the judging panel time to interview entrants face to face in their businesses. Atkins says judges will meet with entrants during October and through until mid-November.