Coastal Erosion Calls For Hard Decisions To Be Made

Coastal erosion and actions to address this are likely to be discussed at the next Waitaki District Council meeting on April 8. The Assets Committee is recommending that the existing temporary road closure on Beach Road be kept in place and that a sub committee be formed to review options for coastal roading between Oamaru and Waianakarua.

Beach Road has been subject to coastal erosion for many years. Four years ago a section of Beach Road north of Awamoa Creek was realigned because coastal erosion was threatening the road. Since then part of the old road has completely disappeared. In the worst parts, eight metres of road reserve have dropped into the sea. This section of Beach Road is just north of the section that is presently closed and illustrates the extent and rate of erosion that is being dealt with.

High seas experienced on the North Otago coast last year and at the end of February forced Council to close the 1.5km section of Beach Road from Gardiners Road to Thousand Acre Road. This came hard on the heels of Council contributing $72,000 for coastal protection work carried out late last year on Beach Road just south of Gardiners Road, and a further $110,000 to coastal protection work that was in progress around the Beach Road/ Thousand Acre road intersection at the time of the road closure.

A number of short-term options are under consideration for this stretch of Beach Road. The estimated cost to Council for each option, after factoring in the subsidy expected from Land Transport New Zealand, is: coastal erosion protection only ($264,000), road realignment only ($214,500), a combination of coastal protection and realignment ($610,500), and abandonment and permanent closure of the road and detour of southbound traffic up Gardiners Road returning to Beach Road via Thousand Acre Road ($82,500).

The sub committee will consider whether, in the long term, the coastal route from south of the North Otago Golf Course to Thousand Acre Road should be permanently closed and abandoned. From Thousand Acre Road down to Kakanui, the road is protected by a limestone formation on the coast, although there are isolated pockets where protection is required.

The coastal route of Waianakarua Road, like Beach Road, requires regular monitoring and future protection. In the long term, if coastal protection works are not completed, this coastal route is also likely to be subject to permanent closure.

The sub committee will report to the Assets Committee on future options, including the options of abandonment and permanent closure of Beach Road, seal extension of Gardiners Road and minor improvements to intersections.