Forestry damaging Whanganui roads but government support could be on the way

Councillor Jenny Duncan says the impact of forestry on the district's roads and budgets is "extraordinary". Photo / NZME

Forestry operations have ramped up in Whanganui and that spells trouble for the district council’s roading team.

A report to the council’s operations and performance committee said forestry impact on sealed rural roads continued to result in very high repair costs.

Longacre Rd was deteriorating rapidly and the required budget to maintain the seal, known in roading terms as the pavement, exceeded the annual maintenance budget allocated across the entire network.

Interim transport manager Brent Holmes told the committee that sealed road maintenance had been under significant pressure for several years from forestry activities and “prep work for our reseals regime”.

“Which, to be blunt, we’ve been losing ground on.

“Transport Minister Simeon Brown has signalled significant increases in those areas, which is great to see.

“The trade-off on that will be significant cuts to walking and cycling [paths], Road to Zero safety and, most importantly, footpath projects and footpath maintenance.”

He said it was important to understand it was not new money but rather a reallocation of money.

Brown’s Pothole Prevention Fund included the renewal and maintenance of sealed roads, drainage, rehabilitation and reseals, Holmes said.

The Manawatū-Whanganui region will be allocated $132.267 million from the Pothole Prevention Fund for 2024-27, a 38% increase in funding compared with 2021-24.

The report said logging was about to commence on Koatanui Rd.

“The pavement is unlikely to withstand the additional heavy vehicle loads and is expected to require significant maintenance intervention.

“Pavement failures have already started to appear on the road, and specifically the hill section, and with logging estimated to continue over the next 12 months, significant damage and cost is expected to be incurred.”

Road works in the district are carried out by the Whanganui Roading Alliance, a partnership between the council and Downer.

Forestry activities had also increased on Tokomaru West Rd, Thompson Rd, Rangitatau East Rd and Kauarapaoa Rd, the report said.

“These areas have at least eight months to two years of harvesting still to be completed.

“The team have focused their maintenance attention on these roads, metalling Tokomaru West Rd, Koatanui Rd and Kauarapaoa Rd and completing over 4000 square metres of stabilisation, dig-outs and first coat sealing up Longacre Rd.”

Targeted rates on forestry properties in the district will bring the council $287,000 for the 2024-25 year, up from $137,000 for 2023-24.

The general roading rate – paid by Whanganui ratepayers – covers the rest of the repair costs.

In the 2022-23 financial year, the cost of repairing roads because of forestry-related damage was $416,681.

The report said other arterial routes, such as Blueskin Rd and Brunswick Rd, were showing signs of damage from logging trucks heading back towards the state highway.

“Targeted maintenance was undertaken but it has put strain on the pavement budget.”

Committee chairwoman Jenny Duncan said that, while forestry was needed, it was “a problem around the country”.

“It is so destructive.

“The impact on our roads and our budgets is extraordinary.”

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.