The permanent closure of Te Puna Station Rd is being considered after years of regular slips and issues with unstable land at the “complex site”.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s Projects and Monitoring Committee considered the prospect at a meeting on Wednesday after a presentation on the impact of recent weather events on roading infrastructure.

Council transportation manager Jim Paterson told the committee there were at least 32 sites around the district needing work. Indicative clean-up costs are expected to be between $15 million and $20m.

Of those, significant work was needed to re-open Te Puna Station Rd. The road was closed to traffic during Auckland Anniversary weekend on January 28 and 29 because of large slips from severe weather. The damage was so significant in some places, entire chunks of the Ōmokoroa to Tauranga cycleway had been lost to the sea.

The road, and cycleway, were not expected to re-open again anytime soon.

Paterson said slips had been happening on Te Puna Station Rd regularly over the years.

The road had also long been used as a “rat run” by commuters trying to avoid State Highway 2 congestion headed to Tauranga.

Council deputy chief executive and general manager of infrastructure Gary Allis said slips on the road had been continuous over several years, including “an historical slip that happens once every couple of years”.

Allis said in general, repair work to roads was more expensive now - a job to fix a slip that would have previously cost about $500,000 would now likely cost $1m. It was also expected to be about two years before the network’s damage was repaired.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council's Gary Allis. Photo / Andrew Warner

The situation with Te Puna Station Rd left only two options, he said.

“Probably the ‘options’ really would be option one, and in my view, the preferred option would be to close it - leaving the cycleway open. Close it [at] Waipuna Hospice.

“Option two, reinstate one lane - one direction - and that would be a more expensive option.”

Regardless of future options, it would be some time before Te Puna Station Rd opened again, he said.

“In terms of repair works that we need to do on the network, we have 30-odd sites. [Te Puna Station Rd] would not be a priority because of the clear alternative access, so this would remain closed for some time,” Allis said.

The road is a popular route for people traveling to Tauranga and has gained the reputation of having become a “rat run”.

One of many large slips affecting Te Puna Station Rd.

Councillor Tracey Coxhead believed people would not be “that fazed if we shut it off”, but that was coming from some of the more vocal members of the local community. She was unsure what residents might think.

Coxhead said that while Te Puna Station Rd had a reputation as being a rat run for commuters, she was not necessarily convinced “because you’ll still have people legitimately from Te Puna who would have gone that way because it would’ve made more sense”.

Figures showing the average daily traffic trips in the area showed a significant increase in traffic on State Highway 2 after Te Puna Station Rd’s closure.

Allis said that if the road were to be re-opened, it would involve getting funding from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency. The road was “a complex site in terms of underslips [and] overslips. We do have our main wastewater pipeline down there as well”.

Western Bay of Plenty Mayor James Denyer said he wanted to hear from all the residents in the area, “not just the ones for whom the rat run is their life-long bugbear”.

Allis said the intention was to engage the community.

Snodgrass Rd resident Frank Aldridge has previously presented to the council due to safety concerns presented by people using his road, Borrell Rd and Te Puna Station Rd as a rat run.

Aldridge told the Bay of Plenty Times he believed the amount of this traffic had reduced since Te Puna Station Rd’s closure.

“I still have a concern about safety, particularly with school kids out there when the school bus comes through.”

Aldridge said he ideally would like to see the speed limit in the area dropped to act as a deterrent for people trying to make up time by using the local roads instead of SH2.

While he did not have a “firm view” on whether Te Puna Station Rd should stay closed, he said the move “makes sense, it’s always slipping”.

Te Puna resident Tommy Wilson said he typically drove Te Puna Station Rd daily and would hate not to be able to continue to do so.

“The sad thing for us is traveling that road is a tonic. It sets you up for the day, it’s peaceful and tranquil and beautiful,” he said.

“If it was set up as one direction, for me, I’d like it to be on the way home. I’d be happy with that. For us that live there, it’s a special way to connect every day.”

Wilson said there was a special historical maunga [mountain] and urupā [cemetery] on Te Puna Station Rd which have special significance to tangata whenua [people of the land].

However, he avoided driving Te Puna Station Rd between 8am and 9am because of rat runners.

“It’s really bad because it can add half an hour to your journey, and that’s very unfair. People are putting their own priorities first by cutting corners, and if you cut corners, you don’t get anywhere in life.”

The prospects for Te Puna Station Rd’s future, and consultation around the matter, will now go to a full council meeting to be discussed there.

The next full council meeting will be held on March 16.