Storms ravage Palliser seawall

After being ravaged by storms which sent waves crashing into it and debris on to the road, the Cape Palliser Rd seawall is due for major repair work.
The wall, made of gabion rock, hasstood for 12 years, and South Wairarapa District Council roading and reserves manager Ian Richards said the rock was showing signs of breaking down and tilting about 20 degrees towards the sea," Mr Richards said.
"In the middle of April there was a big storm and there were very high seas which caused some parts of the wall to tip.
"Fortunately, we had rock stockpiled so we could temporarily fix up the damaged portions and protect the rest from damage, but we do need to make some permanent repairs," he said.
Because it was a special-purpose road, the council had applied to the New Zealand Transport Authority for a grant of $630,000 to purchase more rock for the 330m long wall and to repair the damaged road.
"The road repairs are minimal compared to the cost of fixing the wall," Mr Richards said."
"The rock is about $90 a tonne delivered and we'll need about 25 tonne of rock per lineal metre. It's a huge cost, but first we need to focus on getting the wall propped up."
The road repairs should cost about $10,000 to $20,000, but the majority of the money would buy more rock to restore the wall and to replace the stockpile, should anything need fixing down the track.
"Our first priority is to protect the bits that haven't tipped yet, but probably will tip in the next big storm."