Slip-damaged Te Puna Station Rd remains closed after plea from kaumātua

Te Puna Station Rd will remain closed until the council decides on a permanent solution. Photo / John Borren

A slip-damaged road previously used by “rat runners” will remain closed to traffic in the Western Bay of Plenty.

Te Puna Station Rd in the rural settlement of Te Puna was damaged by slips in October 2022 and then further eroded by severe weather in January 2023, forcing a 600m section of the road to be closed.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council decided to continue the temporary closure at a Projects and Monitoring Committee meeting on Tuesday.

Councillor Margaret Murray-Benge said keeping the road closed was a “very bad decision” and it should be reopened.

However, Pirirakau kaumātua Neville Bidios wanted the road to remain closed for cultural, ecological and safety reasons.

”We don’t want to see Pukewhanake [Pā] suffering any more damage, she’s suffered enough.”

The road runs through the Te Hakao Valley, between Te Puna Rd and State Highway 2 alongside the Wairoa River.

The damaged section on Te Puna Station Rd.

At the headland of the valley is the Pukewhanake Pā, which has been eroded from slips. The wetland below was once an important food source for mana whenua Pirirakau hapū.

The pā was also a place where tīpuna (ancestors) were buried and is considered wāhi tapu (sacred), Bidios said.

In submissions, the public raised concerns Te Puna Station Rd was used by “rat runners” (drivers using it as an alternative route) to avoid congestion on State Highway 2 before the closure and they were worried this would happen again if reopened.

The traffic has now shifted to nearby Clarke Rd, which is causing damage to the road surface.

Traffic on Clarke Rd has jumped from 315 to 956 vehicle movements per day, from December 2021 to May 2023. Of those 956 vehicle movements, 150 were heavy vehicles.

Councillor Don Thwaites asked if the Te Puna Station Rd end of Clarke Rd could be closed for a few hours each day to prevent rat runners. Senior transportation engineer Calum McLean said it could be done using temporary traffic management but it would likely be expensive.

He suggested a heavy vehicle ban might be a better option.

One of the slips on Te Puna Station Rd. Photo / John Borren

Murray-Benge said Te Puna Station was meant to take heavy traffic but Clarke Rd wasn’t.

”I think we are making a very bad decision. If you close this off you’ll be doing everyone a huge disservice.”

Councillor Rodney Joyce said the slips were not a one-off issue and asked how durable a fix could be. McLean replied there we two issues: overslips from the pā and washout from the river. The washouts were a symptom of climate change so were expected to increase, he said.

Joyce said opening Te Puna Station Rd would just move the problem of rat runners.

”There is no good answer here, but unfortunately opening an unstable road and sinking more money into it … is not the best option at this stage.”'

In August 2023, the council consulted on opening the road. People were asked if they preferred it remain closed or opened for one lane for eastbound vehicles in the short term. Of the 572 responses, 271 wanted it closed and 301 wanted it opened. Long-term, 41 per cent of respondents wanted it closed to vehicles and 59 per cent preferred it reopen.

Speaking after the meeting, Pirirakau kaumātua Rawiri Kuka said the hapū's kaumatua were happy with the decision and supported keeping the road closed.

The council will consider a permanent solution for the road as part of the 2024-34 long-term plan, which will be adopted in September.

Staff would also investigate options for Clarke Rd.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.