Manawatū Gorge alternative route jeopardises 40-year research trial
Monday, 19 March 2018
The replacement route for the Manawatū Gorge could disrupt nationally significant fertiliser trials at a research farm.
The trials at the Ballantrae hill country sheep and beef research station near the Saddle Rd in Manawatū have been in place for more than 40 years and have helped scientists to understand changes in production and soil fertility.
But the property is in the path of the proposed route for State Highway 3 between Manawatū and Hawke's Bay.
'It would be very disappointing to let the trial go,' Fertiliser Association chief executive Vera Power said.
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The NZ Transport Agency announced last week it preferred to build a new route north of the Manawatū Gorge, but south of the Saddle Rd.
The new road is needed because the hillside above SH3 through the gorge is considered unstable after a series of slips last year. Officials closed the route indefinitely from July.
Traffic on the proposed new route would use the bridge across the Manawatū River east of Ashhurst, but veer north just before the Manawatū Gorge entry, go east across the Ruahine Range, and then into Woodville.
The route was chosen from four options.
Power said the association understood the urgency to get a road in place, but the AgResearch trials were important and it was the only site in the country where such research was being done.
She said the group would have to look at its options. After monitoring in 2015 and 2016, researchers for a paper said the field site provided invaluable data on the long-term influence of phosphorus fertiliser on soil fertility and biology, pasture ecology and animal production.
AgResearch research director Greg Murison said the transport agency's preferred option would affect the Ballantrae facility and research taking place there. This research involved long-term fertiliser trials that were important to industry.
'We will need to consider in more detail exactly what this preferred option will mean on the ground, and how the impacts could be mitigated.'
AgResearch looked forward to further discussions with the transport agency, he said.
The transport agency's director of regional relationships Emma Speight said the chosen route was shorter by 6.6 kilometres, would be a quicker trip than the old Manawatū Gorge route, shaving nearly four minutes off, and not be as steep as the Saddle Rd.
The agency would continue to seek feedback and work with the community, and resource consents would need to be granted before construction could begin.
The agency is aiming for a 2020 construction start date. Work is expected to be done by 2024.