Paul FitzGerald

Update from PCC on Pukerua Beach Road Slips

/ / Erosion, Road safety

Good morning,

This email is intended to update you on our progress with the investigation around the slips on Pukerua Bay Beach Road.

Our thanks to the residents who have worked with the Council and geotechnical specialists ENGEO to share their knowledge, and allow us access to their properties.

We received ENGEO’s latest report yesterday. We will make it available once we’ve had time to review it and are able to confirm our preferred options. We are looking at several stability options with ENGEO and will need to align them with available funding.

We appreciate you are keen to see some action and we ask you to be patient so we can fully understand the cause of the slips and plan accordingly.

Our maintenance contractor Downer continues to monitor the road during heavy rain, and clear rock falls, as it did last weekend.

ENGEO has good local knowledge of the area and underlying issues having been involved with investigations into the following slips:
• 6 Ocean Parade (November 2016).
• 7A Haunui Way (2017 – 2018).
• 41 Haunui Road (October 2018).
• 57 Haunui Road (November 2020).
• 47 Haunui Road (December 2020).
• 19 Ocean Parade (March to August 2021).
• 1 Ocean Parade (8 December 2021).

The two (2) crib walls on Pukerua Beach Road are a separate matter to the slips but will also be investigated (to come).

Wellington Water recently undertook a leak detection survey of the water pipes in the area above Pukerua Beach Road:
• Two (2) minor leaks were discovered.
• To the best of their knowledge there are no stormwater pipes in the area.
• Residents’ stormwater is discharged to the ground via soakage pits.
• The likelihood that a leaky potable and/or stormwater pipe is contributing to the groundwater concerns in the area is very unlikely.
• An assessment of potential leaks from sewerage pipes is ongoing.

The common theme in all these slips is that they appear to be the result of erosion from water flow of both surface water and groundwater. It is understood that many, if not all, of the stormwater drains from the properties along Haunui Way and Haunui Road discharge directly to the ground, and this combined with natural infiltration of surface water through highly permeable surface soils, is the likely main reason for high groundwater flows in the area.

Rest assured remedial actions are in the planning phase and will be programmed accordingly (especially external funding).

We will continue to keep in touch as our investigations continue, and welcome your feedback.


Ngā mihi
Claire

Update from PCC on Pukerua Beach Road Slips Read More »

Rebuild of crash barrier north of Northern Lookout Starting 7 February

/ / Erosion, Road safety

Capital Journeys have advised that reconstruction work will start on the crash barrier just north of the Northern Outlook. The text follows:

We are replacing a 170m roadside barrier at the northern end of Pukerua Bay. The work will take place at night, 8pm-4.30am from Monday night 7 February for approximately 8 to 14 nights – weather permitting.

The current barrier has reached its scheduled end-of-life and will be upgraded to the latest safety standards.

This is a lengthy job because of the site’s complexities. The posts on which the barrier is fixed need to be driven into ground close to a major underground communications line. To prevent this line being struck, a hydrovac will be used to pothole each post location before driving the posts. This will be noisy work but, where possible, two hydrovacs will be used to reduce the amount of time taken to drive the posts. Other noisy machinery includes an excavator, grinder and plate compactor.

Attached is a copy of the notice to residents near the work. The notice will be delivered tomorrow, Wednesday.

There will be stop/go traffic control in place from 7pm to 5.30am.




Rebuild of crash barrier north of Northern Lookout Starting 7 February Read More »

Pukerua Beach Road Update

/ / Erosion, Road safety

Pukerua Beach Road slip – update

From Claire Giblin PCC

This is a quick update to let you know what work has been done and what plans are in place regarding the slip that occurred above Pukerua Beach Road in December last year. Thank you to residents who have provided feedback and information, plus those who have given us access to their properties to review the slip. We appreciate this is an important issue for many of you and want to reassure you that we are treating it as a priority. Below is a list of actions underway: 

  • Geotechnical experts from ENGEO are continuing to assess the slip, identify any risks and possible remedial actions
  • We are looking at hydro-seeding the areas that have slipped to stabilise any remaining loose surface soil
  • We have asked Wellington Water to investigate for leaks on Haunui Way and Haunui Road to assist in locating the source of ongoing water run-off
  • We have carried out a drone inspection of the area
  • Our CE Wendy Water and Deputy CE Andrew Dalziel have toured the area with roading engineers to see the slip first hand
  • We will continue to keep residents informed, and are always interested to hear your views and ideas.

Ngā mihi
Claire

Pukerua Beach Road Update Read More »

Pukerua Beach Road Update

/ / Announcements, Road safety

The latest from Porirua City Council:

Dear residents of Ocean Parade and Brendan Beach,

This is an update to let you know about our plans to manage the slips on Pukerua Beach Road.

Thank you for the patience and kindness you’ve shown so far in dealing with the closures and supporting the team working to keep the road clear.

A geotechnical assessment carried out last week indicates the underlying rock above Pukerua Beach Road is stable, and there is a very low risk of failure due to rain events.

However, it is possible there will continue to be shallow slips of the loosened surface material, as has been experienced in recent days, and we will continue to clear these as required.

An early estimate of the cause is that the ground above Pukerua Beach Road has become overly saturated by the significant rain fall and, possibly, other sources of infiltration; destabilising the overlaying surface material and vegetation.

In the short term, PCC and Downer will continue to monitor the area daily, and a digger has been left on site, temporarily, so we can respond as quickly as possible to clear any slips that occur.

Residents should report any issues to our contact centre 237-5089 where our team will direct the appropriate response. Downers and PCC have staff working and on call through the Christmas shut-down period.

Longer term, we will continue to investigate to assess if further action is required, recognising residents concerns about stormwater management and slope stability.

We appreciate you did not have your rubbish/recycling collected last Friday. Our contractors will be back through this Friday to collect it.

  1. We received a number of questions from a group of residents who met at the weekend and I hope the information below helps answer them. Installing one way, vehicle initiated traffic control lights. The positioning of this light can be decided by the Road Safety Engineer. The purpose is to ensure that no 2 vehicle passes through the narrow access at the same time. This is specially important during the summer where there will be large vehicle coming in and going out. The assessment of the team is that this is not required, and temporary lights can be unreliable as they work on solar panels. We will continue to monitor the situation.
  2. To remove the loose vegetations that will cause a landslip by way of strong wind and/or rain. We hope that this is done in the next few days in a controlled and managed way, before Christmas as the residence will have family and guest visiting them. We will not be removing loose materials, as it would risk further destabilising the area.
  3. Enforce parking on only one side of the road by the beach. This appears to be an unrelated issue and will not be addressed as part of this process.
  4. There was significant damage to the house – 1 Ocean Parade due to rock falls from the above road. This small strip close to the edge is now unstable as such there should be warnings and alert system introduce in that area. A geotechnical assessment has raised no concerns about the stability of the road in this area. Some remedial work is planned.
  5. Could the council please advise us what are your plans for keeping the users of the road safe and with uninterrupted access during this peak season that is coming up. Our plans are outlined above.

Please share this information through your networks – and my thanks to Paul and the Pukerua Bay Residents Association who have helped spread our updates for your community.

Please note, while I am happy to be a contact for you, I will be away from 24 December to 17 January.

Until next year, enjoy a lovely Christmas and New Year – and let’s hope the weather is kind to us 😊

Ngā mihi
Claire

Claire Giblin (she/her)
Manager Customer Liaison – Transport
Kaiwhakahaere Takawaenga Kiritaki – Ikiiki

Pukerua Beach Road Update Read More »

4:00 PM Update Beach Road

/ / Announcements, Road safety

The 4:00 pm update from PCC.
Good afternoon,
4pm Update:
Paekakariki Rd: No Change from previous update, tree cutting still ongoing. Road still likely to be closed until 7pm. (As per previous email there is access for residents only through to Battle Hill Farm)
Grays Rd: OPEN to all traffic there is some surface flooding still, Flooding and caution signs still in place.
Beach Rd: Open for residents only, closing at 8pm for safety reasons. Downer will continue to monitor it overnight.
We will continue to provide updates as required over the weekend, and our contact centre will operate as usual 24/7 with Palmerston North taking the evening and weekend calls.
Residents should continue to report any concerns to our enquiries team 04 237-5089.
Ngā mihi
Claire
Claire Giblin (she/her)
Manager Customer Liaison – Transport
Kaiwhakahaere Takawaenga Kiritaki – Ikiiki
www.poriruacity.govt.nz

4:00 PM Update Beach Road Read More »

Roading updates from PCC

/ / Announcements, Road safety

Just in from PCC

Good afternoon,

A quick update to let you know that:

Paekakariki Hill Road is CLOSED until around 7pm for tree removal work. Residents who live prior to Battle Hill Farm can access their homes but will have to stop at the Grays Road traffic stop to talk to the traffic control staff.

Grays Road is OPEN but some surface flooding remains. Flooding and caution signs are in place.

Beach Road is currently open for residents only but will be closed again overnight from 8pm for safety reasons. A team will remain on site to monitor it.


Ngā mihi
Claire

Claire Giblin (she/her)
Manager Customer Liaison – Transport
Kaiwhakahaere Takawaenga Kiritaki – Ikiiki


Roading updates from PCC Read More »

Wairaka Farm rabbit cull in progress

/ / Announcements /

In the coming week a cull of rabbits will start on Wairaka Farm (Carrad’s farm). The farm has been split into three areas for the cull, as shown in the map. Area 2 is the closest to residences in Pukerua Bay and further advice will come out when shooting in this area will start. Further information from the culler, Hugh Shields, is also included below, including Police notification details and event numbers.

Wairaka Farm rabbit cull in progress Read More »

Residents’ Association 2021 AGM

/ / Meeting, RA /

The Pukerua Bay Residents’ Association is holding the 2021 Annual General Meeting of the Association:

Sunday 17 October 2021, starting at 3:00 PM (ical)
Venue: Pukerua Bay School and Community Hall (map)

The agenda and reports will be available on the website from Wednesday 13 October.

The meeting will be held under the protocols applicable to COVID-19 Alert Level 2.

After formal business there will be an opportunity for attendees to cast their ballot on the designs submitted for the Chorus Cabinet Art Project, for the Chorus Cabinet at the corner of Wairaka Road and Rawhiti Road.

Residents’ Association 2021 AGM Read More »