‘M.O.W. slips’ doom for restaurant

Press, 25 October 1982, Page 1

‘M.O.W. slips’ doom for restaurant

An Arthur's Pass restaurant owner believes his business is doomed because , of road blockages he asserts were caused by the Ministry of Works and Development. Mr Hans Bohny, of the Chalet Restaurant, said yesterday that the many recent slips at Paddys Bend on State highway 73 were caused by blasting and road works by the Ministry. The slips together with advice to motorists by the Ministry to use the Lewis Pass route have turned what should be one of the busiest week-ends for the restaurant into a financial disaster. Between 60 and 80 people usually dine at the restaurant on the Saturday evening of Labour Day week-end, but only two turned up on Satur-

day. By mid-afternoon yesterday, four people had booked for Sunday evening meals when the figure is usually 40. "If this carries on much longer I am going to be bankrupt," said Mr Bohny. Staff at the restaurant still have to be paid and Mr Bohny believes he has al-

ready lost about 15000, a loss he could sustain if business was to return to normal now. . Extra food bought for the expected influx of tourists has had to be thrown out. Other businesses in the Arthur’s Pass township are being affected by the low traffic levels. Mr Jim Brownlie has had to lay off two staff normally employed at his store during • the long week-end. Unsold

perishable food will have to be thrown out today. Only six customers visited the store in a period yesterday. The tourist-gener-ated business was vital to the store. It could not survive just on the trade in the township. Mr Bohny could not understand why the Ministry of Works and Development had to work on the road. "It is completely unnecessary. I have been going up and down the road for 30 years and there has never been any trouble before." Crib-walling beside the road was removed by bulldozers about two weeks ago and Mr Bohny believed that this and blasting in the area caused the slips. ■ A helicopter with a mon-

soon bucket was used on Thursday to wash gravel and rocks on to the road. "They have been trying to keep the road open, I admit, but when they advise people to use. the Lewis Pass we just are not going to get anyone,” he said. The road was open all day yesterday but comparatively little traffic went through Arthur’s Pass. "Tomorrow should be our second busiest day of the year but we will probably only get about 10 people. If only they had started after the public holiday it would not have been so bad. “If the slips were caused by rain or snow we could take it. But they are manmade and we just cannot accept it," said Mr Bohny.

The Christchurch district resident engineer of the Ministry, Mr J. O. Ballantyne, said yesterday that the area was lined with natural faults and it was hard to say if the work had triggered the slips. The slips had been gravel sliding on an underlying rock surface. Part of the road at Paddys Bend was being widened and the crib wall had subsided, making it unsafe. The wall had had to be removed. Road-widening had to be done on the bluff side of the road because the drop to the Waimakariri River on the other side made it too difficult to work there. The helicopter and monsoon bucket were used to bring down a potential slip “all in one go,’ 1 rather than

dealing with a series of smaller slips. "We have done our best to keep the road open. A lot of traffic has been able to get through with some delays." said Mr Ballantyne. The road had been kept open during most days but closed at night when there was less traffic. Work on the road had begun more than a month ago and it would be several months yet before it was finished. "We want to get as much done before Christmas as we can. We don’t want to do much running round after Christmas," said Mr Ballantyne. More Cars had been using the Lewis Pass because of the slips, he said. “But these things happen."