A route for Kokorua residents who feared they would be either trapped in, or shut out of their homes during the SH6 closure has been secured.
Residents in the closure zone will have access to and from Kokorua Road through a forestry track from the top of the Whangamoa range to Hira.
Waka Kotahi regional manager lower North Island and Top of the South, Mark Owen says access will be via escorted convoys only at scheduled times due to safety reasons.
“Our aim is to run 12 convoys daily. Three each way in the morning and three each way in the afternoon/evening. We hope this should help those families caught up in the closure zone while the repairs to State Highway 6 are carried out,” he says.
State Highway 6 closes for emergency repairs at 6am on Tuesday between Hira and Rai Valley and is not due to open until Sunday 18 December.
Waka Kotahi say the seven-week closure is vital to allow essential repairs and resilience work on the critical transport link between Nelson and Blenheim.
Over the past few weeks, Waka Kotahi representatives have been meeting with affected residents in the closure zone to discuss their situation and available access options.
Mark says the arrangements will allow residents and those with business commitments and animal welfare requirements within the closure area to access their properties.
He says the trips will take approximately 40 minutes. The route is a safe but narrow and steep gravel forestry road.
Waka Kotahi say there is no suitable forestry road option to give access to Rai Valley as it was severely damaged during the August floods. This means there is no access option from the closure area at the Rai Saddle end.
Mark says Waka Kotahi accepts the affected residents are in a difficult situation and to have their road access affected in this way is a huge burden. However, he says there were no easy options given how fragile SH6 is.
“If there were to be another significant flood, the route could be shut down entirely for months. This would have a huge impact on local communities and businesses and is something we want to avoid at all costs. A seven-week closure, and getting the work done as quickly as possible, is the only way to mitigate this risk.”
Waka Kotahi is thanking Tasman Pine Forest Limited and the owners of the land, Ngāti Koata, for their assistance. Mark says the access being provided couldn’t have happened without their cooperation.
