A jetty in the Marlborough Sounds important for emergency services and residents has been closed due to safety concerns.
A routine inspection found some of the structural components in the Waitaria Bay jetty, next to Kenepuru Rd, have “deteriorated significantly” since its last inspection in mid-2023.
Marlborough Roads transport recovery manager Steve Murrin said the jetty was “well past its prime” and over the last 18 months its deterioration had “accelerated quickly”.
“Our contracted inspectors, WSP, have recommended the jetty be closed immediately.”
Murrin said the Marlborough District Council and Marlborough Roads supported the recommendation, and in the meantime it was recommended that people used the nearby jetty at Fish Bay.
The Waitaria Bay jetty was damaged in the August 2022 storm after a landslide lifted the section of the jetty closest to land and shunted part of the jetty forward.
Some emergency maintenance was done at the time to reopen it, and a load restriction of five people on the jetty was imposed.
Murrin said defects included failed corbels (supports) and a loss of piles and bolted connections.
“Unfortunately in certain conditions, such as rough seas, overloading or a vessel strike, these defects could cause a sudden collapse of the jetty.
“If the jetty were to remain open to the public there is a high risk to the safety of its users.”
Signs and barriers would be put in place “as soon as possible”.
Meanwhile a resource consent process to replace the jetty was “well under way”, as was work to see if minor repairs could allow the current jetty to reopen in the meantime.
“We hope a new jetty will be able to be constructed later this year, if all goes to plan with the design and construction process.”
Waitaria Bay resident Robin Bowron said the jetty was important for accessing the central Sounds.
“My opinion of some of the health and safety things is probably different to some others, but it has been slowly deteriorating for a long period of time,” Bowron said.
While he did not think it was heavily used, he understood some children at Waitaria Bay School came from other bays by boat.
“It’s near the community hall and the school, which are emergency centres, and it means if there was some sort of disaster around here, we’ve got sea access to those emergency facilities.
“So it’s quite an important asset in that respect, even if it’s not getting a huge amount of use at the moment, but it is there and it is being used.”
He said the jetty was an asset that needed to be maintained and thought there would be people in the community who were unhappy that it had to close.
“It needs to be perhaps re-engineered a little bit to make it more durable.”
The closure of the jetty came just one month after Kenepuru Rd reopened to the public for the first time since July 2021.
The road still had blind corners with single lanes, potholes and road cones, as recovery from the 2021 and 2022 storm events continued.
The New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) board approved $100m in funding in September to help with the road recovery.
The Marlborough District Council had made an application to the board for $141.4m, which the board agreed to fund 71% or, or $100.4m.
The estimated repair bill for the roads, badly damaged in storm events in July 2021 and August 2022, was $230m. Some of this included road improvement costs, which the NZTA board said was subject to further detailed design work.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
