Petone's 393m wharf closed after more earthquake damage found

Monday, 18 January 2021

Petone stalwart calls for a debate on future of Petone wharf.

Petone Wharf is closed to the public for urgent repairs after recent earthquake damage was found to be much worse than first thought.

The 393-metre wharf in Lower Hutt was closed at 8pm on Monday after repair work uncovered extensive damage.

The wharf was declared safe earlier in January after five piles were damaged following the shakes on December 31 and January 2, which recorded magnitudes of 4.5 and 4.2, respectively. Both were centred near Upper Hutt.

Petone Wharf has been closed to repair the damage cause by two recent earthquakes. Despite a large dip in its walkway, engineers had previously declared the wharf safe.

Initial damage to the piles caused part of the wharf to slump.

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A cross-section of a pile from Lower Hutt's Petone wharf shows damage done by marine worms. The wharf was closed at 8pm on January 18 following an assessment by engineers.

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The Hutt City Council made the decision to close the wharf because repair work was a risk to public safety. It is thought the work will take up to six weeks, the wharf will remain closed during this time.

The wharf’s poor condition has been known since at least 2015. The wharf is infested with toredo worms and was previously smashed by the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake. It was reported in 2018 that marine worms and southerly storms had damaged the wharf’s piles to the point where some moved in the wind.