Local government leaders in areas affected by the closure of State Highway 3 are calling for an urgent meeting with the Transport Agency boss over "ongoing and unacceptable disruptions" to the northern corridor between New Plymouth and Te Kuiti.
By Robin Martin of RNZ
A massive slip in the Awakino Gorge closed State Highway 3 on April 18 and it is not expected to reopen until May 2 at the earliest.
The gorge been closed seven times by weather-related incidents over the last 12 months.
In an email - which copied in leaders in Taranaki, Waitomo, Ruapehu, Ōtorohanga and Waipa - New Plymouth mayor Max Brough urged NZTA chief executive Brett Gliddon to front up in Taranaki inside 10 days, and to visit affected areas and discuss options.
"Given the scale of the impact and the level of concern across the region, the Mayors and Chairs collectively consider it critical that this discussion takes place as a matter of priority," Brough said.
"Our strong preference is to convene the meeting in New Plymouth, followed by a site visit to the affected areas, and then conclude with a targeted discussion on options and next steps. We are requesting a meeting within 10 working days."
Brough said repeated closures following weather events continued to have a significant and compounding impact on communities, businesses and regional connectivity.
"These issues are not new and the ongoing disruptions reinforce the need for urgent collective action."
In a statement NZTA said Gliddon was happy to meet regional leaders.
Waitomo mayor John Robertson said the consequences of regular road closures were significant.
"The impact's huge. The impact for New Plymouth businesses, there's a lot of trucks that go, if you like, Auckland, Hamilton, New Plymouth. So for New Plymouth it kind of isolates them in a way.
"If the bypass routes were good, then that wouldn't have such an impact, but the first bypass route is down the Forgotten Highway (State Highway 43). That was closed as well by the severe weather event. And so it is a road (SH3) that needs serious expenditure on it so that it is more sustainable for us."
Robertson said the leaders wanted a road that could withstand weather events.
"We really asking for NZTA to invest in working through that to find out how we can get a road that is sustainable through these events. It is difficult, we know, and it would be very costly.
"We've got the work being done on Mount Messenger which is another part of that state highway. That's probably an $800 million investment by the Crown. This one? Well there is certainly 10s of millions of dollars that's needed to get this part of the road right."
Roberston wasn't sure if an Awakino Gorge bypass was the answer.
"Look, there is talk, or always has been, as to whether that route, when it was put through a century ago, was put through in the right place. Some say that there was talk about going out to the west, so along the coast, but that would be massively expensive.
"And, so again, there needs to be some options put on the table and NZTA is the organisation of government that needs to put some thinking into this."
Waka Kotahi responds
In a statement, Waka Kotahi said it was acutely aware of the impact the closure of the Awakino Gorge had on communities who relied on access and businesses surrounding this stretch of State Highway 3.
"Our crews are making good progress as they work towards being able to open this stretch of road to traffic later next week."
It said crews had been excavating a bench on the hillside, which is about 50 metres long. It will be sloped on an angle back into the hill to capture falling debris.
The Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said it had met with the Taranaki regional mayors regarding the closure and was keeping them updated on progress towards reopening.
"We're aware of the letter sent by regional mayors in both regions and our CEO Brett Gliddon has confirmed he is keen to meet with the mayors. A date for a visit in May is being finalised."
NZTA said in the meantime its focus and priority was on getting SH3 safely opened and access restored. Crew have to clear 12-16,000 cubic metres of material that came down in the biggest slip.
Its work crews were simultaneously clearing culverts, drains and other smaller slip sites near the big slip.
"Once the work has been carried out and the road safely reopened, the meeting and focus can turn to longer-term resilience."
NZTA Regional Relationships Director Linda Stewart told RNZ's Morning Report road maintenance was becoming a bigger job as severe weather events became more common.
"We are battling mother nature on that and we've seen it across the whole country. For example on State Highway 3 we've had a targeted programme of investment. We've had the Awakino tunnel bypass completed.
She said a high level of continued investment was needed to keep roads at the level people expected. NZTA had regular meetings with government ministers to discuss the level of funding needed, Stewart said.
"Of course that is a balancing act for us as a nation as to where we need to and want to spend that money."
Last week, businesses in the small South Waikato settlement of Mōkau on the west coast of the North Island described it as a "ghost town" and "dead as a doornail" due to the closure of the Awakino Gorge.
Local butcher Bryan Lester told Morning Report he only served three customers on Wednesday between 7am and 3.30pm.
Fellow local and owner of Nic's Latte and Grill, Nic Phillips, echoed Lester's sentiments.
"There's nobody on the road", Phillips told Morning Report.
"It's a terrible situation that we're in."
With no traffic and no customers, Phillips decided to close her caravan on Thursday.
"Unfortunately for us, the Awakino Gorge is the choke point for this. You know, when those rocks come down, that's it, we're done, and there's no way north for any traffic, you know.
"We are fighting mother nature. So what do you do, you know?"
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