Slip Clearance Work Starts on Kakariki Track

Work is under way to clear a large slip on the Kakariki Road track, a public footpath in Seatoun that provides access from Marine Parade at Worser Bay up the hill to Khyber Road.

This $410,000 project includes work to stabilise and repair the path, to make it safe and reduce the risk of further slips.

Wellington City Council closed the footpath in August 2011 after the slip, which made parts of the pathway unusable. The Council sought geotechnical advice on the overall stability of the hillside and is now going ahead with remedial work.

The Council's Infrastructure Director, Stavros Michael, says it's important to make the area safe for people who use the path, and for the six properties located below it.

"We need to protect against further slips occurring, but we won't know how much retaining, if any, may be required until the slipped area has been cleared.

"This is a large project that will be done in several phases. The timeframe will depend on the complexity of the remedial work, which could take up to 15 months."

The slip clearance work is taking place over several weeks. Earth and rock are being stockpiled at the Khyber Road lookout area at the top of the path, before being removed by truck. Most of this work will need be done slowly and by hand if necessary. Part of the lookout will be closed to the public for up to a month while this is carried out.

Engineers will assess the stability of the upper area first, whether parts of it need to be retained and options for how this may be done. This phase of the project could take several months, before any construction work is started.

From August, any retaining work and repairs to the damaged sections of the footpath will be carried out.

The footpath itself will be reshaped to control surface water run-off to reduce the risk of further slips. Small catch fences will be installed to collect any debris.

The Council will undertake regular inspections of the path to make sure that these new systems continue to work as they should.