Ruapehu expects long road closure
WHANGANUI: Ruapehu district businesses and health services are bracing for the longterm closure of the main highway between Whanganui and Raetihi.
A large chunk of the road collapsed last week and detours have added at least an hour to travelling times.
Judith MacDonald, from the Regional Health Network, said State Highway 4 was a key ambulance route between Raetihi and Whanganui Hospital, and doctors were worried some acute patients in Ruapehu would not make it to the hospital on time.
‘‘That’s a twoandahalfhour oneway trip now, through to State Highway 1, so we anticipate the helicopters will be used for acute emergencies and the ambulance will take road traffic as they can,’’ she said.
Ms MacDonald said the Whanganui District Health Board had met local health professionals to implement a local action plan.
‘‘We’re looking at some innovative local responses, like having Zoom as an option for virtual consults, particularly for followups to avoid people having to travel five hours round circuit to access a followup specialist assessment in Whanganui.’’
For local logging truck company, McCarthy Transport, the detour was adding an extra 130 to 200km to the trip, the company’s chief executive Steve McDougall said.
‘‘It’s a huge financial disruption and an operational disruption. We’ve got two logging crews. That wood is now having to come back down to Whanganui and go west to New Plymouth, or come down to Whanganui and then go east via Marton up State Highway 1,’’ he said.
Mr McDougall understood the road would not be fixed anytime soon, but would like more information on alternative routes, because some detours suit only light vehicles, not big trucks.
People at a Ruapehu Business Council meeting yesterday shared Mr McDougall’s frustrations.
Mayor Don Cameron, who was at the meeting, said there was a huge increase in freight going through the road in the last three years, and the closure was concerning.
‘‘It means for the southern districts like Whanganui, Rangitikei and places like that, their price of having goods delivered is going to move up quite markedly and that will happen almost immediately. It’s not just Ruapehu that’s suffering it. It’s also obviously further down in the south region, as well,’’ he said. — RNZ