Work still cycling

on despite delays

Work on the Mangapurua and Old Coach Road sections of the Mountains to Sea

Cycleway has been delayed but the two projects are still due for completion this year,

Department of Conservation staff say.

During summer, up to 20 people were at work in the remote Mangapurua Valley

near Raetihi, making the walking track there suitable for cycles. The team was now

down to six people, with two weeks’ work still to be done, Whanganui area visitor

assets manager George Taylor said.

Work on altering the bridges in the valley is due to finish this month.

In winter, signs and track furniture are to be installed, toilets upgraded and systems

put in place to make sure riders dismount to get around the dangerous bluffs. The

33km section of track from the Ruatiti Road to the Whanganui River and Bridge to

Nowhere is due to open as a cycleway in September, Mr Taylor said.

At the moment the track is usable for walkers, cyclists and quad bikers (as far

as Bartrums Swing Bridge)

but closures will have to take

place when bridges are being

altered at essential crossings.

This will more likely occur in

late April/early May, advises

DoC.

The recent work means

the track is still in a ‘raw’

state and it will take a few

months to settle down. This

means muddy sections may

be encountered.

After that the track

that joins it from the

Kaiwhakauka Valley would

be made suitable for biking

and become another entrance

to the cycleway, and campsite

shelters would be built in the

two valleys. The total cost of

all the work is $700,000.

Coach Road delay

Meanwhile, wet weather has delayed completion of the 11km Ohakune Old Coach

Road section of the cycleway, Ruapehu visitor and historic assets manager Neil Wood

said.

“There’s still bridge construction to be done, and there’s still approximately 2km of

track that needs to be capped as well.”

He’s had as many as 18 workers on the job during the summer and that number is

about to drop to nine. The track is to be opened on 2 July by Tourism Minister John

Key.

The total cost of reinstating the original Old Coach Road and building new linking

sections is $617,000.

While constructing the road, workers discovered two old dwelling sites. Five former

early-1900s house sites and the remains of a temporary campsite are to be preserved.

The cycleway has been diverted around them.

Reprinted courtesy of the Wanganui Chronicle

.