Progress made on highway slip near Ōpōtiki

Contractors are set to work overnight on the slip that fell on to State Highway 2 at Waiotahe Beach early Monday, in an effort to get the highway reopened on Friday. 

An NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) spokesman said the crews had made “excellent” progress. 

“Crews have been working to clear material from both ends of the large slip, following removal of the pōhutukawa trees above the slip on Tuesday. 

“They will work through the night tonight to ensure that the road can reopen Friday.”

SH2 remains closed between Waiotahi Valley Back Rd and Paerata Ridge Rd.

“Further clearing work will be required in areas outside the lanes next week, which may require stop/go traffic management to remove material,” the spokesman said. 

The detour that has been in place for light vehicles this week has not been suitable for heavy vehicles, with freight trucks destined for northern locations having to go the long way round via Hawke’s Bay. 

Meanwhile, steady progress has been made on repairing underslips on SH38 to Lake Waikaremoana, typical of the kind of damage left behind by Cyclone Gabrielle. 

Underslips happen on the downhill side of the road and pose a risk to the road above if they are not addressed. 

“Roadworkers have dug a track down to the bottom of the underslip so they can access the site,” Transport Rebuild East Coast’s Jacob Laird said. 

“Because they’re working below the road, it’s difficult to see what’s happening when you’re travelling by. 

“After the old slip material is removed, geofabric cloth is installed against the cleared slope. 

“The cloth prevents materials from mixing while allowing water to pass through it without washing the materials away. Roadworkers then use aggregate [a mixture of different types and sizes of crushed rocks] to build the bank back,” Laird said. 

“Another layer of the geofabric cloth is laid down to keep the aggregate in place. 

“Rock armour is placed on top of the geofabric to protect the aggregates from being washed away by flooding. This repair method helps stabilise the ground under the road and protect the bank from erosion. 

TREC finished work at the Waiau River site last week and on Monday it started work to repair a scour near Piripaua power station. More repairs are starting soon near Kaitawa and Mangakino Bridge.