The final section of metal road on State Highway 43 has been sealed, marking the end of an era for New Zealand land transport.
State Highway 43, also known as the Forgotten World Highway, connects Taumarunui in the King Country to Stratford in Taranaki, passing through the iconic "Republic of Whangamōmona" on the way. The 150km route traverses rugged country and until now, motorists had to navigate a metal road through the Tāngarākau Gorge.
Contractors recently completed the finishing touches to 12km of tarseal through the gorge, the culmination of 60 years of lobbying, according to Stratford Mayor, Neil Volzke. The $13 million project aimed to improve tourism, potentially creating up to 60 jobs.
According to project manager Sree Nutulapati, the remote and constrained nature of the Tāngarākau Gorge made it a challenging job.
“It is a remote and, as you can also see because we’ve just driven through here, it’s a constrained work environment and it’s only 4m wide at certain sections," he told RNZ.
"So, if you put a grader and a digger in you can hardly get past one another. So, it has been challenging, slow work."
With steep drop-offs on the Tāngarākau River side of the road, certain sections are only 5m wide, whereas state highways are ideally about 7m wide, meaning that motorists would still need to take care, said Nutulapati.
With the gorge sealed, traffic is expected to increase by 15 percent, bringing vehicle numbers close to 13,000 a year, with a boost to tourism across Taranaki of between $35 million to $45 million. It will also no doubt boost visitor numbers for Whangamōmona's biennial "Republic Day" celebration that has taken place since the small rural town declared itself to be an independent republic in 1989 following a dispute over council boundaries.
The current president of the Republic of Whangamōmona, John Herlihy, was initially against the road being sealed, telling RNZ that because it was one of the only unsealed highways in New Zealand it was "a bit iconic".
"But I’ve changed my mind and the boys have done a real good job and it’s lovely and smooth and all the tourists love it now," he said to RNZ, also voicing his one reservation was that motorists would now drive too fast.
"As long as people slow down and take their time. You know that’s probably my biggest worry; people go faster and faster and they’ll end up over the side. Because it was gravel and people were scared of it, they did tend to come through at 30 or 40km/h."