Mothballed Manawatū Gorge highway drawing trampers, despite risk

Friday, 9 August 2019

A slip-stricken highway is returning to nature and trampers are making the most of it. Stuff reporter Jono Galuszka takes a look in this video from 2019.

A highway deemed too dangerous for traffic is attracting guerilla trampers, despite warnings of high risk and prosecution.

The road, State Highway 3 through the Manawatū Gorge, has been shut since April 2017 after landslips blocked the way.

Although the slips could have been cleared, contractors were pulled from the area after a large part of the hillside, known as Kerry's Wall, was found to be slowly moving towards the road.

Seven-thousand vehicles traversed the curvy road each day when it was open.

**READ MORE:

A large rock on the closed Manawatū Gorge highway indicates the risk of injury from landslips.

* DOC, QEII Trust appeal against Manawatū-Hawke's Bay highway designation

* Native bush in the path of Manawatū Gorge replacement road at risk

* Environmental checks in place for Manawatū Gorge replacement highway project

* Commissioners mostly supportive of Manawatū Gorge replacement highway plans**

Now, it has the post-apocalyptic feel of nature claiming back the ground, as plants poke up through the tarseal and birds perch on the road.

The NZ Transport Agency says the Manawatū Gorge highway is not safe for people, but has been unable to stop some from taking a stroll on the closed road.

There are various signs saying the road is closed and large concrete barriers prevent traffic getting through.

Tall chain-link fences topped with barbed wire are meant to stop pedestrians, but Stuff noticed during a recent visit to the Ashhurst end at least three obvious ways to get around or through.

Weeds, including the extremely invasive old man's beard and conifers, have begun creeping in.

The New Zealand Transport Agency has advised that people setting foot on the road put themselves at risk of serious injury or death.

But for some, the allure of the highway is simply too great.

Michael Hills said he regularly walked on the highway when slips closed it to traffic, even before the 2017 slip.

Trampers walk along State Highway 3 through the Manawatū Gorge, which has been closed since 2017 due to landslips.

'It's a wonderful place.'

He especially enjoyed seeing how the road was breaking up, with plants growing between the cracks.

He never felt a level of danger from the environment that was any higher than he had experienced in places such as the Tongariro Crossing, climbing Mt Taranaki or Sawtooth Ridge on the Ruahine Range, he said.

'They are much more frightening.'

He put his risk of harm in the gorge much lower on foot than the times he drove through when the road was open and expected it would eventually be officially designated a walking trail.

The only reason for caution was the possibility of getting caught, he said.

Nature is slowly claiming back the Manawatū Gorge highway, with plants poking through cracks in the road.

Anthony Behrens said he had been in about six times since the 2017 slips.

Photos he took during a recent walk show obvious paths either cut or trodden on one of the slips, indicating the road is used by walkers relatively often.

Behrens said the Manawatū Gorge was a 'ruby in the dust', offering both biodiversity and tourism opportunities.

But the creeping weeds were taking over, with large patches of earth set to become infested, he said.

That created problems for the nearby scenic reserve, which has a walking trail through pristine native bush.

'You don't want it to end up like the Ruahine [Forest Park],' he said.

Ruahine Forest Park has major weed problems, including conifer pines.

NZ Transport Agency systems manager Mark Owen said it struggled to keep people off the road.

The highway was closed because analysis found it was too risky for traffic.

Monthly checks showed Kerry's Wall was continually moving, he said.

'But people being people, they go in.

'People feel they have right of passage, but we're warning them: Enter at your own risk.'

If someone did go in and was harmed, the agency would be questioned about what it did to keep people out.

'We cannot afford for someone to lose their life.'

The barriers, large fences and signage were part of covering those health and safety obligations, Owen said.

'It is very clear about why you shouldn't be in there.

'If someone wants to take the risk, there is not a lot we can do.'

People did occasionally go in there for work, but only in extremely controlled conditions, with spotters on the top of the gorge.

There were concerns about the spread of old man's beard and some weed spraying was going on, but balancing the risk to people with weed control was tough, Owen said.

Meantime, the guerilla trampers walk free.