The Macetown road remains closed to vehicles and motorbikes from its access gate onwards as work continues on clearing dozens of slips caused by the August 27 deluge.
However, the 15km four-wheel-drive track from Arrowtown to the historic reserve has reopened for walkers, cyclists and horseback riders.
Mahu Whenua Tracks Advisory Group lead Kevin Marlow says Jones Contracting got to work on the track about two weeks after the storm, and repairs have been completed as far as the access gate about 3km from Arrowtown.
The work’s being carried out in phases, Marlow says.
“It’s been a matter of waiting for available resources to continue the work, given there’s been high demand for skilled contractors in the area following those floods and heavy rain.”
Since inspecting the first half of the track on foot soon after the storm, he’d since walked its full length, finding “significant slips” between Soho and Eight Mile Creeks.
“The initial assessment is still that everything appears to be fixable, but until you move the earth and see what’s underneath, we can’t say for certain.”
There’s no “definitive timeframe” yet for getting the track fully reopened.
“I think it’s a matter of weeks as opposed to months, but that depends on anything else we find.
“So far, we’re not seeing the occurrence of additional slips, and it appears things are slowly drying out and stabilising.”
Marlow’s “hopeful” there’s sufficient funds from permit revenue collected this year to pay for the work, but if there isn’t, fundraising options will be considered.
— GUY WILLIAMS