Fears over SH25 under-slip
Angst is brewing among Whangamata¯ locals who say they will end up in ‘‘big trouble’’ if an under-slip at the southern end of the State Highway 25 route gives way.
Residents of the Coromandel Peninsula town have been eyeballing the under-slip between Waihi and Whiritoa.
They fear they could be cut off at both ends if the southern end took a turn like the catastrophic under-slip between Hikuai and Opoutere.
But officials say it is being closely monitored and is not a hazard to commuters.
One resident said SH25 was the ‘‘one way in and out’’ of Whangamata¯ .
The road was already damaged, they said, and if something went wrong locals would be at a loss.
Despite the annual Beach Hop event fast approaching and businesses calling out for visitors, some concerned locals were more inclined to say ‘‘no to Beach Hop’’ in case further traffic flow put the road at risk.
‘‘Being a local, I am just worried if there is no way in or out then we will be in big trouble,’’ the resident said.
‘‘I know Beach Hop is really helpful to local small businesses but if there is no road then small businesses will suffer more.
Another resident echoed the same concern.
‘‘Us locals living in Hikuai and surrounding areas are going to be cut off from Whangamata soon if our roads keep falling away.’’
Whangamata¯ councillor and deputy mayor for ThamesCoromandel District Council Terry Walker said he had driven over the southern under-slip.
The concerns raised were legitimate, Walker said, given the extent of the damage caused by Cyclone Gabrielle and multiple storms prior.
He understood the anxiety building up among locals but he assured people that roading crews were keeping a close eye on the under-slip.
‘‘Everybody is very concerned, I think [road conditions] is the number one issue on everybody’s lips.
‘‘Waka Kotahi have monitored it and at the moment they have got no issues in terms of addressing it and making it passable for cars.’’
Walker said the information he received from officials about the upcoming Beach Hop event was that it should continue and the road conditions were suitable for ‘‘a lot of vehicles’’.
‘‘That road is a key road to us and we certainly want to have as much resilience as possible, and we have conveyed that message to Waka Kotahi which is on board with it 100%.
Waka Kotahi labelled the under-slip at the southern end of the road as ‘‘medium risk’’.
‘‘Medium risk’’ meant the road would need to be addressed but it was not an urgent fix as there were about 150 slips across the region with not a single one fully repaired.
On Friday, roading crews assessed the site for a second time since February 16 and confirmed no further movement had occurred, Waka Kotahi system manager for Waikato Cara Lauder said.
‘‘There is a lot of anxiety out there obviously with the state of the roads . . . so we certainly are aware of the site,’’ said Lauder.
‘‘We are definitely not ignoring it and we definitely know it needs dealing with.’’
Lauder said the repair job to fix the southern under-slip on SH25 would be ‘‘relatively simple’’ and would involve strengthening the retaining wall beside the shoulder of the road and making it more robust.
Thames-Coromandel District Council mayor Len Salt said council had been notified of five parts of the Coromandel that had slips that were being watched really closely, that were classified as high priority.
SH25 and the badly damaged SH25A arterial route were among the five.
But Salt said it had been confirmed that there were ‘‘no impediments’’ to fixing SH25A, it was just a matter of finding the best option.
‘‘I think people being anxious and the anxiety around the potential for further slips and road closures is a natural state, and we as a council and myself as a mayor, we share those anxieties,’’ Salt said.
‘‘Waka Kotahi is confident that in the state we are in with the current weather situation that those slips are in a state where they are OK to be used.’’