Post by chun on Mar 6, 2012 7:23:02 GMT -5
Truckers hit by cost of losing the gorge
Tuesday, March 06, 2012 •
Sophie Rishworth
STOCK will get through, rubbish will still get out and fuel costs will be soaked up by transport companies as the impact of the lengthy Waioeka Gorge closure sinks in on Gisborne businesses.
On Saturday, between 100,000 and 150,000 cubic metres of debris crashed down across State Highway 2 in the gorge, after the road had already been closed by a 10,000 cubic metre slip on Friday.
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) said the main link between Opotiki and Gisborne could be closed for at least four weeks.
Detours are around the East Coast on State Highway 35 or via the Napier-Taupo road to the south.
Drivers using the Coast road are reminded to fill up their tanks at Opotiki or Gisborne because of limited fuel supplies along State Highway 35.
This morning the Motu Road was closed after Gisborne District Council said too many people were ignoring the signs that it was for four-wheel-drive vehicles only.
Saturday’s slip was the largest in the gorge in recent memory.
Weatherell Transport director Steve Weatherell said the impact of the closure on his business was “huge”.
His company is the main carrier of goods in and out of Gisborne and runs 10 trucks each way, each day.
He estimates his bill for carting produce in and out of Gisborne the long way, via the Napier-Taupo road, will be an extra $5000 a day.
That includes extra fuel and accommodation costs for relocating drivers to Taupo, which is now the central point from Auckland instead of Tauranga.
“It’s an extra 100 kilometres each way, basically, that’s 120 litres per day per truck if they do a round trip.”
Trucks leaving Gisborne are stocked full of sweetcorn, watermelon and apples, while the ones coming in are for three main courier companies, plus everything to supply the city’s supermarket shelves.
“Everything you buy in town comes in by truck. The only thing that’s not delivered by trucks is babies,” he said.
Mr Weatherell said growers and exporters had been discussing asking the Government for help via the Road Transport Association.
“Some of the bigger players in town are saying we need some help. No one can afford it and the Government will be getting income from road user charges for the extra kilometres we’re doing.”
Some exporters were also considering rearranging their shipping to use Napier Port instead of Tauranga Port, because they could not afford the extra three hours of travel costs.
Using the rail to transport produce was not an option because it was already running at capacity, said Mr Weatherell.
“We can‘t get everything that we would like to get on the train at the moment. It is running at maximum capacity three times a week. That might change as soon as the squash season has finished.”
Other companies report business as usual, albeit taking a little longer to make things happen.
Pak’n Save store manager Jo Pennell said there would be no noticeable impact on prices on the shelves.
AllBrites is trucking rubbish around the East Coast to the Paeroa landfill.
LeaderBrand said their trucks were leaving a bit earlier now so they could still meet the cut-off times in Auckland.
The Surf Lifesaving New Zealand nationals that start on Thursday March 15 will still go ahead.
Club development officer Jeremy Lockwood said there were no plans to change anything but he hoped the Waikaremoana Road could provide an alternative access route into Gisborne.
“Those with big gear trailers will come via the Napier-Taupo road,” he said.
NZTA acting Bay of Plenty state highways manager Andrew Scott said a helicopter carrying monsoon buckets had been dumping water from the nearby river on to rock face areas that geologists had identified as likely to cause further slip movement.
“Before contractors can safely remove debris from the gorge, the rock face areas need to be stabilised from any further slip events. Teams from Opus and Downers have been working tirelessly in difficult conditions.
“There are still areas that our geologists are concerned might come down. The monsoon buckets are being used to dislodge any loose material so that it can come down gradually before we can remove all the debris”, he said.
Mr Scott thanked drivers for their ongoing patience.
