Waikouaiti road threatened by erosion

Community input will be needed to decide the future of Matanaka Dr, in Waikouaiti, which is under...
Community input will be needed to decide the future of Matanaka Dr, in Waikouaiti, which is under attack from coastal erosion, the Waikouaiti Coast Community Board says. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.

Coastal erosion north of Dunedin could spell the end for a popular beachside road in Waikouaiti, the Dunedin City Council says.

Council contractors are working to shore up Matanaka Dr after powerful waves cut into the road at the northern end and attacked at its southern end as well.

The erosion threatened access to two homes and Waikouaiti's recreational reserve, council roading maintenance engineer Peter Standring said.

Conditions had eased since the weekend, but the damaging waves could return, as the heaviest tides attacked the coast during May and June, he said.

''I don't know when the next raft is coming through, but we're not quite through it yet.

''Whether it be this tide, or the next season, it [access] is actually under threat. That's something we need to think about a bit more seriously.''

The council, the Waikouaiti Coast Community Board and residents would have to consider the future of the dirt road, he said.

It was possible the road might be abandoned to Mother Nature, while the reserve was protected and a new road built further inland, he said.

The alternative was ''a lot of maintenance over the next few years'' to protect the existing road.

Community board chairman Gerard Collings said erosion was nothing new along the coastline, but was the worst he had seen in the area.

It left only a thin strip of land between the waves and road in some places, and it had already begun to cut into the road further north, he said.

Mr Collings said he was happy with the council's emergency response to date, but community input would be needed to discuss long-term options.

The board would discuss the issue at a meeting next week, which would likely be followed by a community meeting, he said.

A managed retreat was ''always an option'', and not one he would discount, but he worried about losing vehicle access to the beach as well.

''That beach, in my view, is as much an asset as St Kilda or St Clair to the eastern coast of Dunedin, so losing access to it would be a shame.

''It's certainly not something that I would be very keen to see.''

chris.morris@odt.co.nz

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