$600k repair bill for coastal road

LOSING BATTLE: Mark Allingham, group manager infrastructure and services at South Wairarapa District Council (right) and Fulton Hogan staff on Cape Palliser Rd at Te Kopi where half the road dropped off into the sea during high swells.

Cape Palliser Rd is turning into an on-again, off-again headache, with two days of heavy swells and high tides forcing repeated closures.

The road has "taken another beating" from swells over the weekend and yesterday afternoon that will cost about $600,0000 to repair, and South Wairarapa District Council workers are scratching their heads for a long-term solution.

High seas crashed on to the road on Sunday, causing one lane at Te Kopi to collapse and further damaging other sections of the road.

The council closed the road at the Hurupi, before Te Kopi, on Sunday night while contractors worked to clear away debris.

The road was reopened in time for Monday morning commuters and school children.

However, Mark Allingham, SWDC group manager infrastructure and services, said at time of going to print the road was likely to close again over Monday night, because it was too dangerous to drive in the dark.

During yesterday afternoon a rising tide caused waves to again break over the road.

Mr Allingham said the council was looking at about $600,000 to repair the damage.

"That's just putting back what was there."

From lunch time on Sunday, the council and Fulton Hogan started monitoring the road as the coast experienced heavy swells with waves sweeping over the road.

"Te Kopi lost about half a road width, so at that point we closed the road."

A bypass was put in place to get around the damaged section, while police and firefighters helped tourists and freedom campers to clear the area.

If conditions continue, the council may restrict access to non-essential road users, minimising the risk of a car or person being swept into the sea.

But residents, "who know the road and tides well", will be able to use the road to come and go from their homes.

Mr Allingham said access and safety was the council's main priority and finding a long-term solution for the stretch of road was proving difficult.

About 10 years ago, the council looked at alternative routes that could replace Cape Palliser Rd.

One was building an inland road and the other was a coastal road coming in from the North.

It was decided that both were "not viable because of bridging and terrain".

"The option at the moment is to repair damage as it happens and try and protect the road as much as possible."

Gabion wire baskets filled with rocks and giant granite boulders were being placed in sections along the edge of the coastal road.

He said major works that had been previously carried out on the road were holding up well.

"But now other sections that are unprotected are failing. Once we fix one thing something else falls off somewhere else.

"We're going to have to look at long-term resilience."

Mr Allingham said the council had requested the Road Efficiency Group, from NZTA, carry out a basic case analysis of the road looking for alternative options that may be feasible.

Councillor Brian Jephson, who lives on Cape Palliser Rd, said the weekend swell was "pretty horrendous". "It's taken another beating. This just seems to be the norm now - huge big swells pounding the road."