Photo: Crown Copyright DOC
Two substantial new swingbridges will go in before the storm damaged Heaphy Track reopens in October.
A year after the February storm hammered the middle section of the track, washing away bridges and damaging the track surface, the Department of Conservation (DOC) is on track to have the track open again as a through route by 6 October.
Currently, it can only be accessed from either end as a return walk. The Karamea economy has taken a $15 million hit as a result.
DOC Western South Island director Mark Davies told the West Coast Conservation Board that the department was progressing a plan to replace the single Heaphy River swingbridge with two bridges.
A new 93m-long bridge for the Heaphy River and one over 100m long for the Lewis River would future proof the track, and replace one lost bridge on higher land.
A three-person team from Westport-based contractor West Reef had been on the ground building the access track to the site of the new Lewis bridge.
DOC Buller operations manager Suvi van Smit said the track between the Lewis Shelter and the new bridge site was finished and work was also under way across the Heaphy River to link the two bridge sites.
"Luckily, there is an old section of track over there in remarkably good condition so only a small section of new track is needed to bring it up to the higher elevation of the new bridge."
Surveys for bats, kiwi and Powelliphanta snails had been carried out in the area before any work took place.
"The track carefully winds its way through the forest, avoiding mature trees."
Both of the new bridges will be swing rather than suspension constructions.
The economic impact from the closures on Karamea in the past year has been massive.
A Development West Coast (DWC) study presented to the West Coast Conservation Board late last year estimated a "double impact", as the Oparara Road which leads to spectacular caves was also closed for a time.
Accommodation business had experienced a 50 to 70 percent drop, with one major player down to 10 percent occupancy as a result of the disruptions.
The impact on food and beverage spending was estimated to be down 40 to 50 percent, and visitor numbers to the Karamea Information Centre dropped by 90 percent.
Davies said the ongoing social economic impact of the Heaphy closure in lost revenue had been somewhere between 70 and 90 percent and the impact on the department itself was about $700,000.
The loss of about 12,000 people walking the track and staying at least the night in either Karamea or Golden Bay during Summer 2021-22 represented about $15m lost to the local economy.
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