Landowners in a remote part of north Taranaki say they feel even more isolated after a vital connecting tunnel was closed weeks ago for safety reasons, with no word on when it will reopen.
The families from Urutī claim they have had no correspondence from the New Plymouth District Council about what would be done to repair the Urutī Tunnel, which has been closed since August 22 after heavy rain caused part of it to collapse.
The closure meant some families cut the number of days they were taking their children to school because the alternate route, a winding 45-minute drive, took too long.
A recent slip also cut off a detour road for days, trapping some farmers on their land.
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The residents say while the nature of the tunnel, which was cut through Papa rock in 1916, meant it was always prone to collapse in heavy rain, logging trucks and other heavy vehicles had caused more damage.
That was admitted by council in August when it said it had spent $60,000 fixing support and bracing timbers that had been shattered by big vehicles, along with steel girders which had been bent.
“The very fact that the tunnel is prone to collapsing should mean the council should take even more care with not allowing logging trucks and the like to use it, because that’s continual damage that is being done,” Urutī resident Iain Hutton said.
Hutton, along with other landowners who gathered outside the tunnel this week, said they had not been told if or when it was going to re-open.
However, the council did confirm to Stuffthat it planned to strengthen the support framework and was hopeful this could be repaired before the “summer holidays”.
The council also said it had held “informal discussions” with some “neighbouring property owners” and had yet to estimate the cost of the repairs.
“The fact of the matter is it shouldn’t have taken this long to do something about it,” farmer Zane Neill said.
“We’ve had no contact from them, there’s been no communication. They’re just hiding behind red tape, and we just want them to get in there and get it sorted.”
Hutton said it was not just the tunnel that was causing locals to question what value they were receiving through their continually rising rates – with some claiming they were paying between $10,000 and $20,000 a year.
Roads in the area are in disrepair, including parts that had fallen away more than two years ago.
“There are ratepayers here who are obviously affected by the tunnel and the state of the roads, but the wider Taranaki ratepayers are also affected because a lot of people use it for day trips, and so do the likes of trampers, horse trekkers and motorcycle clubs.”
The Urutī area was also famous for the filming of the 2003 move The Last Samurai, featuring the likes of Tom Cruise and Billy Connolly, while Vincent Ward made the New Zealand film Vigil there in 1984.
“If people come out here they’ll also see a lot of orange cones and a lot of orange netting around the roads because that’s all that seems to be done,” Hutton said.
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