Why the Manawatu Gorge is still shut...

Maybe a silly idea to hope for a 4 laner, but in geological times past, the spoil from such slips went straight into the gorge river and fanned out on the plains next winter.

Prior to the gorge the Manawatu did indeed discharge at the East coast, maybe via the Akitio valley. It was only uplifting of the coastal hills that blocked the eastern exit, Woodville became a bloody big lake till the creek punched an outlet through the gorge to the West.

The only river in the world that rises on East facing slopes and discharges to the West.

The actual volume to be shifted is sod all. Imagine a slip 100m wide, 10m thick and 100m high. 100,000 cuM. The roads people said about 80,000.

If that lot was graded into 5m thick pile in the river bed 50 wide, it would only occupy 400m of river bed. The gorge is 8kM long and has a decent fall, so the debris would match current silt deposits in the river bed. The next winter floods would flush that totally clean as the creek rises 15-20m.

Go figure why it is taking months to clear such a small amount of debris. The bloody bureaucrats have their hands on some cheap fill and are trucking it out half a load at a time. And charging me as a long suffering ratepayer.

HT PDM, comment by me