GOODBYE GORGE
Fallout from the rockfall
The first blow: On April 24, rocks piled on to the road through the Manawatu¯ Gorge, forcing it to close. At the time, roading officials hoped State Highway 3, the main link between Manawatu¯ and Hawke’s Bay, would be cleared within weeks.
Diggers worked to remove material from two slips blocking the road and it was expected to be ready for use by May 18.
The smaller slip, about 200 cubic metres, was cleared within days, but just a few days later, more rocks fell. Two kilometres along, the second 4000cum slip, near the Woodville end of the road, would take longer to clear.
The NZ Transport Agency was still optimistic as regional transport system manager Ross I’anson said the 4000cum slip was only about 1 per cent of what the 2011 slip was. It closed the road for 14 months.
The second blow:
Hopes of opening the gorge by May 18 were crushed when another 2000cum of debris thundered down the Tararua Range side on May 14.
Hazardous conditions caused by poor weather forced a temporary halt to work on the route and the transport agency didn’t set a new opening date.
In late June, more slips came down during severe weather, damaging rock-fall netting and support structures.
The transport agency and the region’s mayors started looking at new routes, but the plan to reopen the gorge still stood.
Coming to a halt:
After two months of clearing slips, at a cost of almost $1 million, plans to reopen the gorge came crumbling down as the transport agency believed a large slip could fall at any moment.
Contractors were pulled, as geotechnical assessments confirmed the entire hillside was moving at an accelerated rate, I’anson said.
‘‘[There’s] an indication that a slip as large or larger than the 2011 slip, which closed the road for 14 months, could come down at any time,’’ he said in early July.
As much as 630,000cum could fall, but it hasn’t dropped so far.
‘‘[There’s] an indication that a slip as large or larger than the 2011 slip, which closed the road for 14 months, could come down at any time.’’ Ross I’anson
Strain on the public:
The gorge closure is affecting thousands of commuters and business owners, who are forking out on added fuel costs and losing customers.
The two alternative routes, the Saddle Rd and the Pahiatua Track, take at least 10 minutes longer to drive and are winding and steep, making car repairs more frequent.
Motorists heading from the Saddle Rd towards Hawke’s Bay often bypass Woodville, using back roads that avoid the town.
Business owners are losing money, with Bridge Cafe owner Rebecca Algie’s profit dropping 70 per cent, as people weren’t stopping at her cafe at the end of the gorge near Ballance bridge.
Political takeover:
First New Zealand First, then National, the Green Party and Labour visited Manawatu¯ to share solutions to the transport woes.
On July 19, NZ First leader Winston Peters attended a meeting in Woodville to hear from worried residents.
Peters blamed the gorge’s dire situation on years of government under-funding for the provinces.
Then the stand-ups began. On July 26, then Transport Minister Simon Bridges committed to a wider, safer and more resilient route.
He visited Woodville Fish Spot owner John Gooding, whose business was down 30 per cent. Gooding asked Bridges what shortterm relief would be provided, but Bridges told him the focus was on a long-term solution. Bridges couldn’t say when a road would be constructed.
On July 27, the Green Party promised it would push a shortterm solution that would see a passenger train running through the gorge twice-daily. Now, the Greens are in Government, but there is no plan in place for the short-term project.
On July 28, the Labour Party pledged to build an alternative route as fast as possible.
Then leader Andrew Little also focused on offering a long-term solution rather than immediate relief.
No gorge, new road?:
With plans to reopen the gorge well in the rearview mirror, the transport agency announced 13 options for an alternative route, in September.
It became apparent to some Ashhurst and Pahiatua residents that an alternative route could cut through their properties and a push to fast track the elimination process was welcome.
Ashhurst resident David Thompson was shocked to learn one of the options ran through his property.
He and other Wyndham St residents weren’t warned about a possible highway cutting through their homes.
On October 11, the transport agency revealed four frontrunners – an upgrade to the Saddle Rd, a new road north of the road, a new road south of it and a new road south of the Manawatu¯ Gorge.
Whichever option is chosen, the road is expected to be finished in 5-7 years.
The fast-tracked decision took just weeks to make and the final four were expected to be whittled down to one by mid-december.
Another halt:
Just days before a decision on a preferred route was expected, the transport agency announced it needed more time.
The deferral left residents still affected by the possibility their properties would be sold off, in limbo.
Old Gorge Rd resident Benita Silcock expected to hear if her home was in the way of a new road by Christmas, but now has to wait months to find out if it will be demolished.
The next move:
The announcement on a preferred alternative route to the Manawatu¯ Gorge is expected in the first quarter of 2018.
Meanwhile the construction of a much-needed bypass of Ashhurst should start soon.
Ashhurst residents have been dealing with a huge increase in traffic using the once-quiet Salisbury St to get to and from the Saddle Rd.
While Ashhurst residents want less traffic, Woodville residents want it to come back through their town centre.
To encourage motorists to drive through the town once they leave the Saddle Rd, the road layout will be changed to make it more difficult to bypass Woodville via Oxford Rd.
Construction for that change should start in early 2018.
Goodbye gorge:
An exclusive look through the gorge in December showed significant damage to the rock face that didn’t look likely to stop moving.
When Manawatu¯ Standard reporters walked along the road, it was scattered with rocks, some as large as car tyres.
The potential for a slip as large as 630,000cum still looms and the decision to keep the road closed stands firm.
The gorge is in desperate need of repair, but the transport agency doesn’t want to risk letting people in, so the focus remains on building a new road.