An information day is being held for people to find out more about a multi-agency project to mitigate flooding at Kirikiri near Thames.

Details of a stopbank upgrade and bridge replacement at Kirikiri will be available at the information day taking place at the Thames Golf Club on Monday, December7 from 4pm to 7pm.

The Kirikiri Stream Bridge will be replace as part of a multi-agency project to mitigate flooding in the area. Photo: Google Maps

The Kirikiri area has previously experienced localised flooding, made worse by the way the current Kirikiri Stream Bridge on State Highway 26 affects flood waters.

Waikato Regional Council is working with the NZ Transport Agency to replace the bridge which will enable council's Waihou Valley flood control scheme to be completed to its original design standard.

There will be no impact on regional council rates because this work is a completion of the already funded Waihou Valley scheme.

Council's principal technical advisor Ghassan Basheer says this work is a great way of providing better protection to the Kirikiri area without ramping up rates.

'It's great that the NZ Transport Agency and ourselves are working closely to complete the project,” says Ghassan.

'The new bridge will handle the flow of a 100-year flood event and will be some three metres higher but won't have a central support structure, which will prevent debris accumulating under the bridge and contributing to flooding.”

Following construction of the new bridge council will widen the stream channel and floodway, upgrade the stopbanks to a higher level, shift some stopbanks back from the stream's channel, and in some areas construct timber floodwalls.

The project, scheduled to be constructed between 2018 and 2021, is dependent on the transport agency finalising funding for the bridge replacement.

The combined budget for the proposed works will be confirmed following the detailed design.