Cape Palliser Road reopens after storm damage repairs

NEW LOOK: The nearly-completed road to Cape Palliser lighthouse, now finished.PHOTO/FILE

The long troublesome Cape Palliser Road is now open all the way to Cape Palliser lighthouse after work was completed at Kupe's Sail.

A storm that wiped the sea into a frenzy in June was responsible for damaging the road, washing away part of the concrete causeway at the floor of Kupe's Sail and rendering that section of road impassable to all but 4WDs.

Coastal residents described a massive "cave-like" hole in the road.

South Wairarapa District councillor Brian Jephson, who lives on the coast, said repairs had improved the road beyond how it had been prior to the storm. "The work had been designed by engineers who did a pretty good job," he said.

Included in work which has helped with road safety has been the removal of a cattle stop at Whatarangi which had been located on the brow of a rise and had caused some problems.

Mr Jephson said the council could be thankful the road had been designated a "special purposes" road many years ago which meant the repair costs were met by New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA).

"There is no way the district council could afford to repair it."

Cape Palliser Road was given special purpose status when surveys confirmed it mainly served tourists.

That was determined by researchers situated at the start of the road near the intersection of the road with the Lake Ferry Road noting car registrations and processing them to find out where owners lived.

Since then it has become obvious, according to coastal dwellers, that the popularity of the road continues to increase with most of the cars belonging to tourists and day visitors rather than local traffic.

Mr Jephson said rock protections on some stretches of the coast road, including at Te Kopi, had served to improve the road and slow down coastal erosion but, realistically, problems with the sea eating away at the road would re-emerge from time-to-time.

Big seas push into the road creating funnel-like effects and something eventually has to give.

Over decades the Cape Palliser Road has gone from being an unsealed track with several streams crossing it that vehicles had to ford, to a road that allowed for the opening up of Ngawi as a holiday spot.