Significant work has already been undertaken by the Department of Conservation following Cyclone Dovi on its two West Coast 'great walks' including the coastal section of the Heaphy Track, pictured, and on the Paparoa Track. Photo: Department of Conservation
The Department of Conservation has significant work under way on the West Coast to mop up damage to tracks as a result of Cyclone Dovi in February 2022.
This includes a major rebuild for wiped out bridges and track on the central part of the Heaphy Track and a significant fix to the near new Paparoa Track.
DOC Western South Island director Mark Davies said the contract to fix the Heaphy Track, including the two-bridge replacement for the washed out Heaphy River bridge on a new higher alignment has now got underway.
The department planned to have the track on a new alignment in the central section, to accommodate future climate change, reopened as a through walk by Labour Weekend "hopefully".
Meantime the Heaphy great walk remained open from either end.
But Davies said the 18 months of disruption to the through walk experience had come at a cost for the department.
It budgeted revenue from hut and track fees in the order of $700,000 a year, and the impact last year due to the cyclone "was significant"
But the communities servicing the track at Karamea and Golden Bay, had suffered more -- as found in the analysis by Development West Coast presented to the board in October last year.
"We believe it is significant," Davies said.
This work had helped inform a case by the department for more funds around Cyclone Dovi recovery.
DOC Greymouth area operations manager Chris Hickford said a "significant programme of work" was underway for the Paparoa Track.
Dovi caused "significant damage" in two areas, on the zig-zags on the escarpment section and on the Croesus side.
"We've just secured funding to get that damage repaired."
The wrecked Heaphy River Bridge on the Heaphy Track following Cyclone Dovi in February 2022. Photo: Department of Conservation
Contractors had been appointed with the plan to do the work in two parts. The zig-zag section repair was already underway and was expected to take eight weeks before moving to the Croesus side.
Hickford said the Croesus aspect was more complex in needing to account for significant heritage values on that part of the track.
Another couple of "key sites" the department was addressing due to Dovi was in the Reefton area.
Both the Lankeys Creek loop walk, adjacent to Blacks Point and Crushington, and Kirwins Track in the Waitahu Valley northeast of Reefton were significantly impacted by Dovi.
Lankeys track was partially open with repair work starting soon, Hickford said.
About 1.5km of the historic Kirwins pack track was "completely gone" as a result of Cyclone Dovi.
"We think there's three weeks of work that we can do straight away to get the track open."
Users in the meantime would have to negotiate a couple of river crossings with further work over a month into July planned to reinstate the crossings.
Board member John Taylor asked if the department was considering a reroute for Kirwins, in light of its climate change future proofing stance for the Heaphy.
Hickford said the plan was to "try to stay close" to the original Kirwins alignment as it was the most feasible.
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