Repairing the Helena Bay hill slip on Russell Rd means 110,000cu m of material has to be trucked away, project lead Curt Martin and councillor Stephen Martin say.
Work to remove the 110,000cu m slip on Helena Bay hill has meant two nearby businesses have to shut their doors until the work is finished.
The slip on Russell Rd came down after heavy rain saturated the region on January 21.
Whangārei District Council expected it would take untilJune and 15,000 truckloads to remove the slip material, then an unknown amount of time to repair the road underneath the slip.
The slip material would be trucked away from the slip, initially to a site 1-2km south, opposite the intersection with Hay Rd. Other sites would also be needed.
This meant the road closure would extend to Hay Rd, taking in the Helena Bay Gallery and Cafe, as well as a lot more houses, the council said in an update to residents.
Helena Bay Gallery owner Peter Brown said the businesses were open for the weekend but would shut from Monday, when work begins in earnest on the slip, including the use of large Moxy trucks commonly used in mining.
The slip had already hugely impacted customer numbers, with just 25 coming over Auckland and Northland Anniversary weekend when 300 were expected, he said.
On Friday afternoon, just three cars had arrived at the businesses for the day, despite it still being the usually busy summer season.
“I think people just put it into the too-hard basket. We got the signs changed but it was still confusing,” he said.
The closure of the road provided some certainty, such as wages not having to be paid, and the gallery would continue its online sales, Brown said.
The slip on Russell Rd has impacted Helena Bay Gallery and Cafe, now forcing closure of the two businesses. Photo / Susan Botting, Local Democracy Reporter
“We are selling stock online but it will never make up for the closure,” he said.
Last year, the gallery and cafe closed over the quiet winter months.
The council thanked locals for their willingness to work around the problem and said all properties in the area would be accessible as normal outside working hours.
Helena Bay Gallery owner Pete Brown, pictured with his beloved Saint Bernard dog Leo, says he will focus on online sales and his own woodworking while the gallery and cafe are shut.
For the approximately 800 properties on the other side of the slip, an alternate route through Kaiikanui Rd was piloted seven days a week, from 6.30am to 6.30pm.
Access outside those hours was allowed, with people urged to take extreme caution on the narrow, unsealed track.
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.
