Uncetain future for road access to Franz Josef glacier
From local democracy reporter Lois Williams:
The uncertain future of access to Franz Josef Glacier is up for discussion at today's meeting of the West Coast Regional Land Transport Committee.
The access road and track to the glacier were badly damaged in the storm of March 2019 that cost $4 million in emergency repairs. The work included the construction of a causeway next to the Waiho (Waiau) River as a temporary fix.
But the Department of Conservation (DOC), which owns the road, says there is a high risk of future storm damage and no clear plan for a more permanent or resilient option for the road.
DOC wants funding from the National Land Transport Fund to develop a business case for a long-term solution but needs to have the project listed in the regional transport plan in order to qualify.
DOC is asking the committee for a variation in the plan to include the study, dubbed the 'Franz Josef Access Resilience Single-Stage Business Case'.
The funding requested from the national fund is $200,000 a year to maintain the causeway, and $50,000 a year over two years to prepare the business case.
Work on the study, by DOC and the NZ Transport Agency has already begun and the committee is expected to approve the variation.
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