Major work is currently underway to create a diversion road on SH23 and this temporary road is expected to be in place for a significant amount of time while they work on repairing the main slip site.
Raglan Community Board chair Dennis Amoore said that things are “moving pretty fast,” but expects the diversion to take a number of weeks to complete.
“I’d say about four weeks but that is pure speculation on my part,” said Dennis who also added that the diversion road will need to last in ‘excess of 12 months,’ depending on how long the main road takes to fix.
Having cleared the trees, road workers will need to clear more earth and then start building the road itself, which Waka Kotahi - NZ Transport Agency have indicated will ‘hopefully’ be two lanes.
(Listen to the full interview below:)
Meanwhile the detour that is in place via Waingaro is impacting a number of services for Raglan residents including bus cancellations and delays for items that require transport using heavy vehicles.
Dennis says that he is also keeping an eye on Waitetuna Valley Rd which has seen more traffic over the past week, particularly more heavy vehicles, with some areas of the road starting to deteriorate rapidly.
“If too many people use it -it will continue to deteriorate,” said Dennis, adding that he is speaking with the council roading team to grade the road, put some metal down and clear ditches before the cyclone hits.
Raglan Wharf Project
Work on the Raglan Wharf has been progressing as planned with the structural work completed and the pontoon and eastern access work (SP2) consented.The boulders for the eastern access will soon be delivered and placed and the pontoon is being fabricated off site and will be delivered soon as well.
“They might barge the pontoon in rather than using a large crane on site” said Dennis.
Dennis also expects there will be a 2-3 week delay on the delivery of key items due to their length because extra heavy long loads cannot access Raglan without SH23 being reinstated.
The Raglan Wharf Upgrade Project is not funded by rates. This project was originally funded $2.5 million through the Provincial Growth Fund to kickstart the upgrades and was followed up by a $3 million boost from Central Government’s Better Off funding scheme to complete the western walkway.
Dennis says that it’s important for the community to have ‘shovel-ready’ projects where designs and costing have been completed in order to benefit from Government funding. The wharf is a great example of a project that was perfectly placed to receive the funding boost because much of the planning had already been completed.
Wastewater Overflows
The Council’s notice to discharge treated wastewater on the incoming tide brought out all sorts of commentators on the Raglan Notice Board and Dennis said that while this discharge usually occurs on the outgoing tide, releasing on the incoming tide is also allowed under the current consent options.
He also mentioned that to put things into context, the water runoff into the harbour from farms and other land areas most likely has more contaminants in it than the treated wastewater - which has undergone treatment and is also diluted a lot from the amount of rain.
The no swim warnings for the wastewater discharge were lifted on Saturday, February 5, but Te Whatu Ora Waikato released a general no swim notice to cover all waterways in the region until Tuesday, February 8 - including beaches - due to increased potential bacterial contamination from the sheer amount of rain.
Dennis said there were big warning signs put up at Ngarunui Beach but there were still about 50 keen beachgoers who were swimming over Waitangi weekend. Surf LifeGuards on duty responded by putting the flags up to keep people safe as they can’t forcibly stop people from swimming.
Wastewater Treatment Plant Update
Steven Howard from Watercare attended the most recent Raglan Community Board meeting to give an update on the land-based treatment options that have been the preferred choice indicated by the Raglan community.
There were questions from the open forum about whether the proposed system would cause a smell but Steven said this was unlikely, using an existing system at Pauanui as an example for what some irrigation options could look like. While further development needs to happen, Dennis hopes to have Watercare present information to the community when they have all the information and answers to relevant questions.
CCTV and ANPR cameras - Funding for a network of CCTV and ANPR cameras to be stationed in key areas around the Waikato district has received $600,000 from the Better Off funding scheme.
Cambrae Rd Walkway - Needs further assessment after the recent slip at the end of Bay View Rd as well as a look into water inundation from rain and high tides.
Civil Defence Plan - The Raglan Community Board is working on updating the community’s emergency plans. A sub-committee has been formed and in coming months they hope to get their plan updated in conjunction with key community organisations and reviewed.
Manu Bay Breakwall - There have been further delays with this project with the stakeholder meeting now pushed further back to the end of March. The RCB have asked the council the reason for these delays.
Soundsplash Review - The RCB will meet with the Waikato District Council events team later in the month to review how the event went.