THE PROBLEM: The slip that closed the Manawatu Gorge on April 24. PHOTO/NZTA
THE PROBLEM: The slip that closed the Manawatu Gorge on April 24. PHOTO/NZTA
Tararua Mayor Tracey Collis hopes council leaders from both sides of the Ruahine and Kaweka divide will be able to agree on a single option to overcome problems caused by repeated closures of the Manawatu Gorge.
The hope has been expressed ahead of a meeting she has called for nextWednesday with the leaders of the Palmerston North city, Manawatu district, and Horizons regional councils, along with Hawke's Bay local; government elder statesman, regional councillor and regional land transport committee chairman Alan Dick.
The gorge, the State Highway 3 stretch between Hawke's Bay southern gateway Woodville and Manawatu entrance Ashhurst, has been closed for more than five weeks because of a slip, a problem worsened by the instability of a retaining wall which the New Zealand Transport Agency said last week would have to be replaced - hopefully by Queen's Birthday weekend.
Still open are the Pahiatua Track south of the gorge and to the north Saddle Rd, on which more than $8.5 million is being spent to upgrade it as the key alternative for Manawatu's links with the Port of Napier, which reports say is the "most important export port directly accessible to the Horizons region (Manawatu-Whanganui)".
Freight from the port to the Manawatu region was expected to double over the 30 years from its 0.68 million tonnes in 2012, with increases also expected in the opposite direction.
"Therefore the links between the two regions need to be secure for the passage of HPMVs (High Productivity Motor Vehicles)," the Horizons regional land transport plan says.
It said that during the 2011-2012 closure of the gorge, lasting 13 months, economic losses to Manawatu were estimated at $63,000 a day, while currently businesses in Woodville are concerned about downturns as less traffic passes through the main street.
"I am hoping to gain a consensus around which option we consider the best alternative, and then discuss it with the NZTA and central government," Mrs Collis said.
