Locals feel the squeeze after State Highway 6 closure – صحيفة الصوت

State Highway 6’s closure has put the squeeze on Nelson businesses, causing one freight company additional costs “in the thousands.”

State Highway 6 is currently closed between Murchison and State Highway 65 following a large rockfall Wednesday morning. One lane of the road is set to reopen 8am Saturday.

Since the road’s closure, motorists travelling between Nelson to Christchurch have been forced to take State Highway 1.

The new route has added seven hours of travel time to the journey, Sollys Freight manager Ed Solly said to Stuff.

READ MORE:
* State Highway 6 to reopen Saturday following major rockfall
* Safety fears close State Highway 6 over rockfall risk
* Section of State Highway 6 north of Murchison to re-open Wednesday

Solly estimated the route down the East Coast added 440 kilometres onto the trip. The added cost of this journey was in the “thousands,” Solly said.

Solly said NZTA needed to work on an alternative inland route for the top of the south, one that was “100% reliable.”

While it was possible for drivers to use the Maruia Saddle Rd to bypass the closed section of State Highway 6, this route was not possible for trucks to use.

“They should have two alternative routes out of most places.”

Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce chief executive Ali Boswijk said the supply chain suffering due to damage to one of its major arterial routes was sadly nothing new.

Nelson was geographically challenged due to the terrain surrounding it, and travel could be difficult.

Unfortunately, the previous decision to “rip up the railway lines” was one that still affected the top of the south today, Boswijk joked.

Boswijk said it was difficult for freight companies to pass on added costs due to the current state of the economy.

The cost of the extra petrol, loss of time and productivity, were impediments that could majorly affect businesses. Additionally, it was the middle of winter, and the weather had been difficult.

However, while things seemed difficult now for local businesses, they would eventually improve, Bosjwick said.

She urged people to continue to support local businesses as much as they could.

“Everything is cyclical, things will get better.”

Murchison farmer Simon Blakemore said the road closure had a large impact on locals.

His neighbour had been trying to move some stock but due to the road closure, three trailer loads of animals had to come back and be looked after.

The strip of State Highway 6 near Dellow’s Bluff was notorious to locals, plagued by slips and accidents.

Feral goats roamed the cliff face, eating the undergrowth and de-stablising the bank.

Blakemore said he was critical of NZTA, and believed the work on the slip is taking far too long, despite the “endless pot of money” Waka Kotahi possessed.

“It’s only a matter of time before the road drops into the river.

“It’s too slow … it’s not good enough, it’s just not good enough.”

Nelson Tasman Emergency Management group public information manager Paul Shattock said, in the case of both major highways to the top of the south being cut off, there were systems and processes in place that were flexible and could adapt to any scenario.

There were teams that focussed on lifeline utilities and supply chains to bring resources into the region in the case of an emergency.

If the roads were blocked significantly, alternative methods of transportation such as air or sea would be used.

“We have strong relationships with Waka Kotahi (who manage the State Highway network), and we will work with them should the network become blocked.”

Previously, following Cyclone Gita, sea freight was used to transport supplies into Golden Bay.

The Nelson/Tasman region had stores of lifeline goods in the case of emergency.

However, Shattock said they encouraged everyone to be prepared, with a home emergency kit with enough supplies to last three days minimum and up to 14 days if possible.