Source: New Zealand Transport Agency
While significant progress has been made overnight to fix damage and reopen roads across the North Island, relentless rain has caused additional slips, forcing more closures.
Jacqui Hori-Hoult, Regional Manager of Maintenance and Operations for Waka Kotahi says more heavy rain is expected in the north half of the North Island through to the middle of this week and that the safety of road workers and the public remains the main priority.
“Our contractors have been working hard overnight to clear surface flooding and debris from the roads which has allowed a number of highways to reopen, including SH1 Pūhoi.
“Ensuring our people have adequate rest so that we can clear as much damage as possible will be our main priority.
“Damage to SH1 at Brynderwyn Hills also means that crews will be closely monitoring this area. Our priority is to re-open this road as quickly as possible given the long weekend, however with additional rain expected, we won’t hesitate to close this road if needed, for the safety of our workers and the public
Some roads will require geotechnical testing to be carried out, to assess the extent of the damage.
Earlier reported closures on SH3 near Te Kuiti and at the intersection with SH37 have now both been opened. Contractors have worked to clear the slips there.
“With heavy rain forecast today and for the rest of the week, timing our work around the forecast weather will allow us to carry out this work as quickly as possible” says Ms Hori-Hoult.
“I really want to extend my thanks to our contractors out in all weather doing as much as they can to quickly reopen access on our network, but I also want to thank road users and local communities for their patience and understanding as we work through this. We can’t help the adverse weather but we are doing as much as we can to minimise disruptions.
“We are continuing to ask everyone to stay home where possible. If you must travel, exercise extreme caution. Drive to the conditions, which means keeping a safe following distance and dropping your speed. Be prepared for some road surfaces to be rough where rain has stripped top layers of the seal and watch for flooding and other debris on the road,” says Ms Hori-Hoult.
“This continues to be a swiftly moving event around large parts of the North Island – so please keep up to date by checking the Journey Planner ahead of travelling to avoid delays.”
Please check road and weather conditions before your journey:
Waka Kotahi Journeys(external link)
Metservice Weather Warnings(external link)
For more information on the Auckland storm event see:
https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/(external link)
