The 'gluepot' in South Wairarapa where the narrow, winding road is slumping. Photo: Sue Teodoro / LDR
A South Wairarapa road is slowly falling into the sea, with those dependent on it at risk of becoming completely isolated.
Known by locals as 'the gluepot', the road winds along the top of a steep cliff, with the ocean on one side and towering pines above it on the other.
It is part of Te Awaiti road that runs along the shoreline north from the Awhea river mouth, in the Tora area of South Wairarapa. Apart from small sections, it is mostly gravel.
Narrow and winding, with large chunks of it already slumped towards the sea, it seems just a matter of time before it degrades completely.
Last year a transport truck got stuck and took half a day to extricate. Now, a local farmer said if the road went, he and others would be completely cut off.
Dan Riddiford is the fifth-generation farmer at Te Awaiti station. He and neighbouring farms need the road to the south - their only access route. There is no road out of the area to the north.
Riddiford said he had asked council officers for a site meeting, but it had not happened.
"By repeated emails, I have asked the council for a site meeting with the decision makers and my neighbours," he said.
A council roading manager told Local Democracy Reporting they were working on a fix to stabilise the landslide, now that the road was drying out.
However, Riddiford said the problems had been ongoing for three or four years.
His questions to the council included how to ensure the road was maintained to an acceptable standard, as it had been in the past, so trucks and trailers could freely get across.
"I've asked what their plan is to repair the gluepot if it all collapses into the sea. And what is their plan for emergency four-wheel drive roading if it collapses into the sea, and I don't think they have one."
A Martinborough Transport truck got stuck at the 'gluepot' last year. Photo: Sue Teodoro / LDR
Local trucking business Martinborough Transport is a firm that regularly sends large vehicles down the district's roads serving the farming community.
Company spokesperson Josh Hawkins said the glue pot was one of several in South Wairarapa experiencing problems.
"We are not sending our biggest trucks out there. Twelve months ago, a truck got stuck at the glue pot, and it took half a day to resolve," he said.
Hawkins said other roads in the area including White Rock Rd, Tora Rd, Hinakura Rd and Ushers Hill all had issues at times.
"We have to have that road [Usshers Hill] checked before we go out there. That's another one that's continuing to slump. Cape Palliser Rd is always moving. Some of the roads, we have to do a scouting trip before we go."
Hawkins said there appeared to have been a lack of regular maintenance on some South Wairarapa roads.
South Wairarapa District Council (SWDC) roading manager Tim Langley said the council was working on a fix.
"The glue pot on Te Awaiti Road is one of at least four active major landslips on SWDC roads.
"Works over winter and early spring have kept the road open without compromising access."
Options were being considered to stabilise the landslide now that the land was drying out and losing its fluid movement due to saturation, he said.
Council could now look at filling the low points and smoothing the alignment, without extra weight of additional material causing more dramatic movements, he said.
"Resident requests and concerns were addressed over the winter months, and we will continue to update about future repairs."
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.
