Cyclone recovery: Gravel extraction underway at Walker Road

Destruction near Walker Road, Waipawa, caused by Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has announced the successful tender by contractors to remove up to 300,000 cubic metres of gravel from the Upper Tukituki catchment.

The extraction site is off Walker Road, Waipawa.

Hawke’s Bay contractor firms Slick Civil and Russell Roads will now be removing gravel from the Tukituki River at this site from now until March 2024.

Group manager assets Chris Dolley said: “We are very pleased that we have this work underway. Not only is this benefiting local firms, but we have had support from the Central Hawke’s Bay District Council through our MOU with Central Hawke’s Bay District Council.”

Dolley added: “We have been granted an exemption to extract and stockpile the gravel on adjacent land with strict biosecurity measures in place to minimise the risk of spreading any Chilean needle grass (CNG) seed.

“Although there is concern regarding the potential spread of CNG, this risk needs to be balanced against the need to rebuild critical infrastructure post-cyclone and extract areas of potential future flood risk.

”We are working closely with the biosecurity team and have biosecurity measures in place to minimise this risk.”

The Regional Council’s CNG management plan involves:

• Minimising the handling of the gravel by loading it out from river into large dumpsters, then delivering it directly to the stockpiling site.
• The gravel will not be carted off-site until a suitable end-use is identified with the biosecurity team. The end use will be low-risk, such as foundations, concrete, and sealed roads.
• All earthworks machinery used to load and transport the gravel will be cleaned down and then inspected by a biosecurity adviser before being moved from the site.
• This wash-down area is located on-site, directly adjacent to the stockpile area.

“Residents will see more activity in the area and greater truck movements, but we hope this inconvenience is outweighed by the knowledge that the gravel is being removed,” Dolley said.

The gravel extraction is part of the flood protection actions of the Upper Tukituki Flood Control Scheme under the IRG programme of works.