Closed Fox Glacier access road to be abandoned; cash diverted to tourism projects
Friday, 23 August 2019
An access road to the West Coast's Fox Glacier will not be rebuilt after it was destroyed by a major landslide in February.
About 150 metres of the road completely washed away and another 150m was substantially damaged during heavy rain at the end of February.
The road closure prevents foot and vehicle access to the north side of Fox Glacier Valley. However, access to viewing points on the Southside Rd have been open since shortly after the March flood.
It is expected Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage will confirm at an announcement on Saturday the road is being abandoned.
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She will also announce a $3.9 million investment into tracks around Fox Glacier from the International Visitor Tourism and Conservation Levy to offset the impact the closure may have on tourism in the area. It is understood the funding will be spend developing tracks, including around Lake Matheson.
The Fox Glacier access road was closed in November and December last year after debris after a slip damaged a section of road. The Department of Conservation (DOC) fixed it at a cost of $430,000 but at the end of February a massive slip destroyed the same section of road. It has remained closed since.
DOC said at the time it was the largest active slip in New Zealand. The department sought specialist engineering advice on the feasibility of rebuilding the road, but constant debris flow into the Fox Valley has made rebuilding it unfeasible.
The road was also closed for two months early last year after ex-tropical Cyclone Fehi washed part of it away.
Westland mayor Bruce Smith previously said the landslide was 'a beauty' and Mills Creek, which ran alongside the access road, was a 'real problem'.
He blamed the slip, which brought millions of tonnes of gravel into the Fox River, for the erosion of the historic landfill that spilled rubbish down the coastline. Volunteers spent weeks cleaning up the mess.
DOC South Westland operations manager Wayne Costello said in March the access road was in a precarious position and any repairs could be washed away in the next weather event.
Costello said authorities might have to wait until conditions in the valley settled, which could take several years.
Decisions about the access road would be made in consultation with the NZ Transport Agency and roading and geotechnical engineers, he said.