[ad_1]
Patoka resident Fran Faulkner left her home to have surgery the day before Cyclone Gabrielle hit. Eleven days later, she has only just been able to get back to the remote rural community after contractors built a bridge for residents to use.
The temporary bridge over the Mangaone River has reconnected residents of rural communities like Rissington, Patoka and Puketitiri The next step will be Bailey bridges.
“These bridges are going to be a lifeline,” Faulkner said.
Faulkner’s son drove her to meet friends Stu and Rae Gunn at the bridge who were taking her home for the first time in 11 days. It was an emotional reunion between the friends with Rae describing the scene as “apocalyptic” and like “coming into another world”.
READ MORE:
* More than 360 Cyclone Gabrielle injury claims accepted so far, number likely to grow
* Cyclone-hit Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne in line for more rain, severe thunderstorm risk for some areas
* Cyclone Gabrielle: Family rescued from waist-deep water, now cleaning up ‘tonnes’ of sand
* Cyclone Gabrielle: Truckie’s fight for survival in the dark and pouring rain
* Ruatoria family’s night of terror trapped in car during Cyclone Gabrielle
The slips that had destroyed the Rissington Bridge have been cleared by local farmers and forestry crews, but until now the only access has been via helicopter or boat, with a pulley system created to help ferry supplies over the river.
CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF
Fran Faulkner says goodbye to her son Harry Harding as she’s picked up by neighbours on the other side of the four-wheel drive bridge that has been created for limited access.
There is still more than a metre high piles of silt and broken trees but was a pipe bridge constructed by contractors over the past three days will provide residents with very limited access.
Rae said many residents had shed happy tears when as the bridge took shape.
Residents further up the hill country in Puketitiri like farming couple Alice and Tim Nelson were also excited about the bridge development describing it as their “link” to the rest of the region.
CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF
With the historic Rissington Bridge over Mangaone River washed out contractors have been working hard to make temporary bridge for the cutoff communities.
Tim said things were already a “lot better than a week ago” and they had seen lots of little improvements.
‘We just can’t get across that bloody river.”
The couple’s 300-hectare property was still largely inaccessible due to multiple slips which meant they could not yet assess the full scope of the damage but were expecting many stock losses and damage to fence lines.
CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF
Silt surrounds a home on Puketitiri Rd at Rissington near where the Mangaone River has washed out the historic bridge.
They had been able to get to the local golf club where a community civil defence hub had been set up. The community had been overwhelmed by the support shown.
“It’s small steps but we will get there.”
The area often gets snow so many residents were no strangers to using generators and were well supplied .
But road access was important for fuel to be delivered and for farmers to get stock off land, as many would normally be selling lambs at this time of year .
“Until we can get stock off, we have no income.”
CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF
The rural Rissington community has also been badly hit by Cyclone Gabrielle, with the bridge washout also limiting access for residents further up the hill country.
The arrival of HMNZS Canterbury in Napier, carrying five much awaited and desperately needed Bailey bridges, was also a hopeful sign of further connection.
A spokesperson for Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said it was working with the National Emergency Management Agency and local councils to figure out where Bailey bridges would be required.
“Once we have identified the best locations we will be able to share more detail.”
But it’s understood two were being planned for use on the state highway network to replace the collapsed Hikuwai Bridge on State Highway 35 in Tairāwhiti and the Waikare River Bridge on SH2 connecting Napier and Wairoa.
As well as one at Rissington, another was going to be put in at Opoiti in Wairoa District.
[ad_2]