Extensive Work In Repairing Roads

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32392, 3 September 1970, Page 1

Extensive Work In Repairing Roads

(From Our Own Reporter) WESTPORT, September 2. The Lower Buller Gorge is not expected to be reopened for light traffic until Friday at the earliest.

The Ministry of Works hopes to have the big slip near the Old Fern Arch cleared by tomorrow to allow trucks to convey a Bailey bridge from Christchurch to replace the one over the Ohikanui washed away by Monday’s flood.

three farm properties on the Cape road, between Westport and Carters Beach, appeared to be similarly affected. The Orowaiti basin, for the committee’s purposes, -Mr Kennedy said, was bounded by the Te Kuha, Victoria Road, Sergeants Hill and the Buller River.

The bridge, about 12 miles from Westport and 17 miles from Inangahua, is not expected to be replaced before next Tuesday. The wooden bridge beside the site of the Bailey bridge is still usable but has a 20-ton weight limit.

in, and the road was now largely “back to normal,” although there was still some tidying up to be done, the Ministry of Works reported. Aid To Farmers About 25 farmers living in an area of about 3000 acres, in the Orowaiti basin, might qualify for assistance, the Westport flood relief advisory committee decided at a meeting. The committee, which met at the instigation of the Buller branch of Federated Farmers, inspected properties.

Mr Kennedy said the initial and urgent concern of the committee was the organisation of whatever action was necessary to minimise losses and damage. He explained that the committee was empowered to make recommendations to the Department of Agriculture in Wellington, but it could not enter into any commitments with people who might be affected until Cabinet approval had been obtained. Mr Kennedy went to Reefton and Inangahua this morning to join a similar committee there. They inspected flood damage. Farmers in the Inangahua Valley are reported to have suffered more severely than those in Buller.

It will also take several days to clear up the many minor slips and washouts which have occurred, but which are not bad enough to close roads.

The Lower Buller Gorge railway will probably not be reopened before Sunday. The washout which derailed part of a goods train on Friday and slips, all near Tiroroa, have required a great deal of repair work. The road is blocked at Tiroroa by a slip 100 yards long and 20ft high which fell on Monday. Clearing is being made difficult by the trees and rock in the spoil to be shifted.

The farm advisory officer at Westport (Mr M. Kennedy), who is chairman, said that although silting was widespread after Monday’s flooding, the committee considered most pastures would recover without re-grassing. About 300 acres of fairly good pasture had been silted to the extent that re-grassing would be necessary. An additional 300 acres of rough, semi-developed land probably would need to be regrassed also. “Although the committee feels that most properties will recover, the problem is to provide sufficient feed in the next month,” he said. Mr Kennedy said that two farmers, who between them supplied about 300 gallons of milk to the town supply, were severely affected and their production might be reduced substantially unless relief was provided. Farmers on factory supply were midway through calving and their needs were perhaps not so urgent. Hay Need

Although accurate figures are not yet available, stock losses in the Greymouth area appear to be lower than expected.

The resident engineer of the Ministry of Works, Mr J. S. Douglas, said early predictions that a track would be through tomorrow were optimistic. The operation would be much more difficult than first imagined. Slip Pumped Heavy machines working in the area today hardly made an impression on the slip and some experimenting will be done to try to speed up progress.

The Agriculture Department reports that cattle losses may be as high as 90, but have no indication of the number of sheep involved. Lambing losses do not appear to be very high.

Water will be pumped high into the slip and it is hoped that this will make it flow across the road and into the river.

The Upper Buller Gorge is expected to be open again some time today. State Highway 73, through Arthur’s Pass, was reopened to traffic yesterday morning after a bad wash-out at Broken River had been filled

Hay supplies would be the I most urgent need. Two or