Cyclists on Tasman’s Great Taste Trail can literally see the light at the end of Spooners Tunnel following repairs to storm-related damage.
The trail section between the Kohatu Flat Rock Café and through the tunnel was reopened during the weekend, following extensive damage caused by the severe June and July storms.
Cyclists can now ride from Kohatu to the southern entrance of the tunnel and back again, while the section north of the tunnel remains closed.
Trail manager Belinda Crisp says reopening the section - especially the 1.2km-long tunnel which is a highlight for cyclists - is a significant milestone after such widespread damage.
“Initially, it was completely overwhelming. In April-May this year, the trail was in great shape, and we were planning a few enhancements. So, it has been pretty devastating to go back to square one and have to rebuild one of the hardest places to build in the first place.”
The storms caused numerous slips on that section of trail, including two that deposited silt nearly 200m into the tunnel. Hundreds of trees fell across the trail, culverts were destroyed and the trail base was washed out.
Belinda says OnFortyOne suffered major forestry losses and undertook urgent harvesting on its land beside the trail, while NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi rebuilt a section of the trail as part of its road repair work.
The finishing touches included a team of contractors mowing, spraying and tidying the trail for reopening.
With this work complete, 93 percent of the trail is now open again. At this stage, the trail remains closed beyond the northern end of the tunnel.
Part of the delay is due to harvesting operations that were brought forward after storm-related windfall and Belinda says the trail between Wakefield and the Wai-iti Domain will be a complete reroute, which will take time.
In September, the Minister for Tourism and Hospitality, Louise Upston, approved $1.6 million of Great Rides extreme event funding from the New Zealand Cycle Trail Fund to support repairs to the flood-damaged trail.
