Deluge creates havoc and divvy no quick fix

by Edith Symes

Contractors were hard at work this week repairing slips and washouts around the Raglan district in the wake of the big wet that has also knocked out – for the foreseeable future – the town’s principal link with the outside world.

But while the divvy’s been closed to all traffic on SH23 between Raglan and Whatawhata since the appearance of serious cracking and slumping a fortnight ago, there are also other major repair jobs underway within the district.

Cambrae Rd in town for instance is still closed to through traffic as Waikato District Council’s roading alliance group work on a slip which has also uncovered a Chorus internet cable. Any further dropout would leave the water main exposed and unsupported, one-time Community Board chair Rodger Gallagher – who lives nearby – reports on his Raglan 23 website.

Meantime Waikato District Council’s alliance contractors are taking a conservative approach, he says, leaving the spoil in place to limit further slippage. The plan is to install a concrete retaining wall, he adds, with the materials currently being sourced.

Nearby on Bay View Rd a spectacular cliffside slip has left residents “devastated”, with drainage pipes and the retaining wall of a secondary dwelling on one of two affected properties exposed.

From the top of the slip, a sizeable new land mass – peninsular in shape – can now be seen jutting out into Whaingaroa harbour.

Bay View Rd resident Val Burton told the Chronicle she was not home at the time, but that her husband Graeme made a quick exit from their hot tub when he saw trees sliding downhill. About 80 percent of the landslide seemed at first to be on the next door property, she explained, but with more movement overnight it became shared “5050” by both properties.

“We spent many hours putting in over 500 plants to secure our bank three years ago,” Val lamented. “We are very upset.”

Geotechnical engineers have inspected the site and are in the throes of assessing the damage.

Meantime clearing of slips continues along the coastal road south of Raglan. Ruapuke locals got a shock to see a large chunk of the northern or Swann Access Rd car park, which is popular with surfers, washed out and the road temporarily closed.

Slip debris is also being cleared beyond Te Mata, on the Bridal Veil Falls road and further out along Phillips Rd, which suffered major damage with three-quarters of the road blocked for a time. Locals have since managed to clear a portion of it themselves.

However, it’s the closure of the divvy while Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency investigates and plans its strategy that friendly professional advice for friendly and proffesional advice email o ce@webbgould.co.nz has locals worried most. “This is a very serious situation … it will not be a quick repair job,” says the agency in a press statement.

It has issued an official detour route via Ohautira and Waingaro Rds to Ngaruawahia, but lots of people are still using the Waitetuna Valley Rd route as a “rat run”, Raglan ward councillor Lisa Thomson told the Chronicle on Monday.

This is not ideal, she said, as parts of it are gravel, there are potholes, and a ‘soft closure’ is also in place. Lisa asked residents to be cautious and drive to the conditions but to preferably stick to the given detour, and take time on its winding sections.

The narrow Old Mountain Rd route between Waitetuna School and Te Pahu Rd is open only to residents.

Waka Kotahi is working really hard to get the divvy back to full use as soon as possible, Lisa added, but the priority is safety and long-term resilience.