A slow-moving slip at an area on the Inland Kaikoura Road in North Canterbury known as Whalesback is one of the reasons Kaikoura was regularly cut off since November’s earthquake.
The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) is removing its full subsidy for “special-purpose” regional stretches like this one, paring back funding to the more common 50:50 split between central and local government.
NZ has had nearly 50 special-purpose roads since the early 1960s, ranging from small strips through the Waitangi National Trust in the Far North to an access road to Franz Joseph Glacier in South Westland. There are currently 32 special-purpose roads.
In the latest review, NZTA said the assistance rate for special-purpose roads would remain at current levels until next year as part of a transition to a normal funding assistance rate by 2023-24.
At Whalesback, slips have been a headache since well-before the Kaikoura earthquake, and before concerns about climate change captured hearts and minds.
Hurunui District mayor Winton Dalley said NZTA was asking Hurunui, with a ratepayer base of just 6000, to contribute about 49% of maintenance for 17km of road on “Alternative Route 70” from the intersection with the Mt Lyford turn-off to the northern end of the Conway River bridge.
Dalley said the inland road was essential at any time as a back-up route to Lewis Pass and the Picton-to-Christchurch coastal highway. The section of State Highway 1 north of Kaikoura is not expected to reopen until at least Christmas.
Heavy transport needed the inland road at any time because large loads couldn’t fit through the tunnels. A growing number of tourists were using it too, Dalley said.
NZTA regional director (southern) Jim Harland said the agency had an agreement with Hurunui to repair and improve the inland road well enough for it to be maintained out of council budget once the special-purpose fund was removed.
NZTA had spent $18.6 million on the road since the quake, and it would need an estimated $30m to bring it back to its original state. About $10m more would be needed for improvements.
At Whalesback, contractors were maintaining “lower-level access” in the face of regular flooding, but were pinning back a problematic earth face, and repairing or upgrading bridges. “We’ll hand it back in a condition that the council should be able to fund it out of the usual funding arrangement,” Harland said.
NZTA was consulting with councils to determine the role, condition and transition arrangements for each special-purpose road.
The agency would continue to help councils like Hurunui to repair damaged roads in the event of emergencies, and to consider different cost-sharing on a case-by-case basis, Harland said.
Local Government NZ (LGNZ) implored an incoming government to work urgently together to manage the risks posed to communities from extreme weather and seismic events.
The lobby group for district and regional councils said the Kaikoura earthquake, and the Edgecumbe flooding in April, highlighted the need for a risk agency to lift local capacity.
LGNZ president Lawrence Yule said much of the responsibility for adaptation fell to local government, but councils couldn’t address the issues of sea-level rise and increasing frequency of storm events by themselves.
He said a risk agency would work on “innovative solutions” to funding options for local and national infrastructure, particularly in response to climate change.
