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Friday 2 September 2022
The long road to recovery
Birds Hill: The edge of the tarseal has been undercut and fallen down the precipitous bank of earth exposed by the slip. Photo: Jo Richards. JO RICHARDS
Two weeks on from the rainfall event that caused widespread damage to Golden Bay’s roads, several routes remain closed or subject to ongoing traffic restrictions. Within the Bay, the most significant issue appears to be the reinstatement of SH60 at Birds Hill just beyond Waitapu Bridge on the way to Collingwood. The road was briefly closed following a serious slip, but opened intermittently to light vehicles until the end of last week, when vehicles up to 26 tonne and 8 wheels were also allowed access. On Tuesday afternoon, Waka Kotahi NZTA (WKNZTA) gave the green light to heavy lorries, meaning truck and trailer units such as stock trucks and milk tankers could travel through the site. The limited time-slots for vehicular traffic have stayed the same, however, with stop-go traffic flows at the following times each day: 8-9am; 12-1pm; 3-4pm; and 6pm-7am. When The GB Weekly was allowed access to the site on Tuesday, contractors were busy at both ends of a severely damaged stretch of the road. On the uphill side of the affected section, which extends for approximately 25 metres, a steep bank has been constructed from large
rocks. On the seaward side of the road, the signs of the washout are all too evident; the edge of the tarseal has been undercut and fallen down the precipitous bank of earth exposed by the slip. At the base of the slip debris, including uprooted trees and scrub, lays scattered on the now-dried-up bed of what had been a torrent of mud and water. Adding insult to injury, the infamous Birds Hill bump has further encroached onto the carriageway necessitating the one-way traffic system to be extended almost as far as the Waikoropupū Springs junction. Responding on Tuesday to an inquiry from The GB Weekly concerning the reinstatement of SH60 at Birds Hill, WKNZTA system manager Top of the South Andrew James said work was continuing to restore full road access but it was going to be a major task. “The site has been cleared for use by heavy vehicles today. However, fixing this section of the road and returning it to full use will take some time. The slip site requires extensive engineering and remediating to make the road stable.” He was unable to provide a completion date for the job. “We do not have an exact timeframe for how long this work will take to
complete at this time.” Comparison with other road repairs, however, may provide some approximate indication of the timescale involved. One of the most recent projects undertaken by Waka Kotahi on SH60 at Birds Hill concerned the installation of a concrete kerb along the shoulder of the carriageway. That relatively simple task took several weeks, during which stop-go traffic control was operating, while another possible yardstick, the repair of the Tākaka Hill Road slip sites, took almost four years to complete. Amongst the other affected roads in the Bay, at the time of going to press, some were open but for residents only, including Falconer Road (Pōhara), Bird Road (Clifton), Rameka Road, Dry Road and Abel Tasman Drive (Wainui Hill). Other routes – Glenview Road, Totaranui Road, Awaroa Road and Cobb Road – remained closed. Beyond the Bay, there is some concern about potential problems on the Tākaka Hill Road. “There are two sites, on each side of the Tākaka Hill summit, that are currently being monitored for movement,” explained... Continued on page 2
Local election hustings JO RICHARDS
The election campaign will ramp up in Golden Bay next weekend when the hustings come to town. Two meet-the-candidates events, organised by local branches of Grey Power and Rural Women, will offer a golden opportunity to listen to, and question, those standing for election as ward councillor and district mayor. Both meetings are scheduled for Sunday 11 September, with the debate starting at 2.30pm in the Collingwood Area School hall. The second forum starts at 7pm at the Senior Citizens’ Hall in Tākaka. The confirmed list of hopefuls shows there are five candidates for Tasman District Mayor – Mike Harvey, Tim King, Richard Osmaston, Maxwell Clark and Aly Cook – and four contenders for the two ward councillor positions – Celia Butler, Chris Hill, Quinn Lake and James Wolfen-Duvall. One candidate for ward councillor, Phil Smith, has withdrawn. The meetings will follow an identical format, with all nine candidates invited to deliver a three-minute prepared speech, after which there will be time set aside for questions. Any questions, however, will need to be submitted in writing, either prior to or at the meeting, and may be addressed to all candidates, or selected candidates. There will be no questions allowed from the floor. Already elected unopposed, the four members of the new-look Golden Bay Community Board – Abbie Langford, Grant Knowles, Henry Dixon and Robert Hewison – have also been invited to speak at the meetings. Next Friday, two days prior to Sunday’s hustings, The GB Weekly plans to publish profiles of the four candidates standing for the two Golden Bay ward councillor positions. We also intend to publish short profiles of the four members of the refreshed Golden Bay Community Board. Enrol and vote All those on the electoral roll should receive their voting papers in the mail between 16-21 September, but anyone not enrolled will need to request special voting papers from Tasman District Council’s deputy electoral officer Sandra Hartley. “Voters can contact me at elections@ tasman.govt.nz or call 03 543 8400 and ask to be put through to me, and I can post out the documents,” says Sandra. “Special voting will also be available at the Richmond, Motueka, and Tākaka Service... Continued on page 4
SUPPORTING
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Inside:
Young artists
THE GB WEEKLY, FRIDAY 2 SEPTEMBER 2022
Movie review
Daffodil Day
Heritage plaques
ISSN (PRINT) 2538-0923 ISSN (ONLINE) 2538-0931
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