A bid for funding to fix the storm-damaged Hauraki Rail Trail has been knocked back, leaving those behind it to find two to three million dollars.
By Jordan Smith, Local Democracy Reporter
Multiple parts of the Great Ride cycle trail were hammered in January storms, with damage that brought the group behind it to tears.
This time, the worst destruction was in Section C of the trail, which runs from Paeroa to Waihī, specifically in an 8km stretch along the Karangahake Gorge and tunnel.
The tunnel was flooded for only the second time in its history as water levels exceeded the 7.8 metre height of Cyclone Gabrielle.
“Not only did it get flooded, it actually tore the surface completely out,” Hauraki Rail Trail chief executive Diane Drummond said.
"We'd only just finished paying for the Gabrielle repairs in December, so only three weeks later when we saw the scale of the damage, it brought us to tears. It wasn’t a happy place to be."
Finding funding for the extensive repairs has proved troublesome as well.
An information paper outlining the damage was provided to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to seek advice if any external funding mechanisms were available to support repairs, according to a joint statement from the Rail Trail and Hauraki District Council.
The response was negative, meaning both parties are still working to find the best way to fix the track, the statement added.
Drummond said the “gold standard” repair, which involves moving the trail to a different track entirely, would cost $4.4 million.
"At this stage, it's about funding and what is available... we can't obviously commit to something we don't have funding for."
"We know what we need to do to future-proof that trail, but that's a $4.4 million discussion, which we don't believe is available."
The economic drain of the trail’s closure has also been catastrophic.
Drummond said MBIE estimated the track closure costs the local economy $20,000 a day from a loss in direct spending in local businesses.
That number probably gets closer to $30,000 during periods like Easter.
“If we’ve been closed for eight weeks... it’s about $1.4 - $1.5 million the community has lost,” Drummond said.
It’s a driving factor in the trail is reopening this weekend, even though the surfaces are still so unstable. Drummond is calling for riders to dismount and walk in parts.
"We're really having to do things and open it well before it's ready as an imperfect child, simply to get those businesses' lifeblood going."
Drummond said finished repairs will take 18 months, providing funding is found, and urges people to remember why the trail was shut in the first place.
"Money doesn't just grow on trees. Global warming isn't just coming, it's here, and it's very expensive... we can't keep rebuilding the way we have.“
“We have to have those conversations, and we have to be brave in what we invest in.”
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