Business Case
A business case (PDF, 19.3MB) was approved for work to improve the resilience of the Mataikona Road - an essential step in seeking funding for the work.
Masterton District Councillors agreed on 28 June 2023 to seek funding support for Option B in the business case, focussing on critical and high risk interventions, using a mix of coastal protection, retreat of the road (where practical and feasible), slope stabilisation, and retaining walls.
The business case and agreed option will be included in the 2024-34 Roading Asset Management Plan, and 2024-34 Long-Term Plan (LTP) which will be open for consultation with the community early next year.
A draft funding submission for the 2024-2027 National Land Transport Plan must be submitted to Waka Kotahi by next month (August 2023). The Council will not be advised of whether the funding submission is approved by Waka Kotahi until September 2024.
The preferred option has an estimated total cost of $32.8 million.
Where retreat options are proposed, these would be subject to land acquisition processes requiring consultation with landowners.
Further investigation of hybrid approach approved
On 9 November 2022, Masterton District Council (MDC) approved further investigation of a preferred hybrid option for Mataikona Road, as discussed at the community meeting on 3 September 2022.
After two public meetings, and consideration of likely costs, it was decided to take a look at a combined solution involving:
Strengthening options – priority strengthening (when and where this can be afforded).
Increased maintenance – where this is considered necessary in some sections.
Retreat options – where the road can be realigned inland (where possible and feasible)
Sandy Bay Drive has been identified as one potential area where the road could be retreated away from coastal erosion. No timelines or plans have been finalised. We are contacting landowners in the area as the first step in discussing feasibility and risks.
Among things to consider are that:
- raising the existing road would incur high costs and it would still be susceptible to coastal/river erosion requiring very expensive coastal protection
- taking advantage of the existing private road would be more economic for both landowners (through reduced responsibility for future maintenance) and the community, by utilising part of an existing as-built road.
Options considered
As set out at the 3 September meeting, the range of options considered were:
