Western Bay to spend $1.5m to repair road to Kauri Point

Kauri Point wharf. Photo/supplied

More than $1.5 million will be spent on repairing a Western Bay of Plenty road which leads to a popular and historically significant reserve.

The Western Bay of Plenty District Council today announced it would spend up to $1.528m on a repair solution on Kauri Point Reserve road, bringing the road a safety factor of 1.5 - the safety level required under Council's Development Code.

The roadway down to the harbour within Kauri Point Historic Reserve has been closed due to a severe landslip on the Kauri Point Historic Reserve which happened during cyclones Debbie and Cook in April 2017.

The repairs will enable access to the jetty and boat ramp.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council stated it decided to repair the landslip following consideration of options presented by geotechnical engineering consultants Tonkin and Taylor who carried out an assessment of the landslip and cost estimates for repair.

Kauri Point residents at the council's Operations and Monitoring Committee meeting last week pushed for the road to be repaired.

Ratepayers' Association chairwoman Debbie Duncan said the community wanted its road back and wanted a "long-term fix".

She said the popular and historically significant reserve, jetty and the boat ramp were a vital part of community life and were an attraction to visitors from elsewhere.

The jetty and boat ramp were also important access points in the community's civil defence response plan.

The council's main concerns, it stated in a release, were the long-term stability of the slope in the road reserve area and the long-term safety of the road in the event of future adverse weather events.

The repair work will consist of a large rock buttress at the toe of the slope and the new road will be slightly realigned from its current position. Work will begin once all relevant consents have been obtained, following which the work will be put out for tender.

The timing of the work is subject to obtaining required consents and contractor availability to complete the work, which all going well, is likely to be in April/May 2019.