Re: Alternative route to Mahia could be considered again, August 1 story.
I fully support Wairoa District Council and what they are trying to do on the three kilometres of road and rail along Blacks Beach over here at Mahia.
I have met with Mike Hardie and Hira Campbell from the council’s roading team on quite a few occasions plus walked along the tracks. The way I see it, the biggest problem is trying to get KiwiRail to come on board. I can’t see why they are not taking over because that big slip is 100 metres above the rail line. It looks like the track has dropped 1 metre.
The 3km of rail track has formed a dam over many years as it is built up, holding water in the gullies above the track.
Only the excess water runs down to the beach. Other water finds its way through cracks in the hills and this is why there are so many slips and more to come. On the Opoutama side of the slip there is an old 1 metre slump covered in blackberry 40 metres long that I bet no one else has seen — this could go any day.
I feel Mike and his team are snookered trying to go ahead. In my opinion there is a brick wall.
I believe Craig Little and his councillors need to get this issue on TVNZ’s Sunday programme and go harder to the Government, because otherwise we will lose both rail and road at Blacks Beach.
This is not something Rocket Lab can be asked to help fix.
Merv Goodley
