State Highway 1 over the Brynderwyn Hills in Northland will reopen to all traffic in both directions from 6am next Monday, 1 May.
The road has been closed off and on for weeks following major slips caused by Cyclone Gabrielle. Jacqui Hori-Hoult, regional manager maintenance and operations at Waka Kotahi said crews have worked extremely hard over the last two weeks to reinstate access as usual for Northland road-users.
“We’ve made great progress over the two week closure, which allowed us to complete major earthworks. We were able to advance our work across all three over slips where we reformed the hillside and removed loose material to make it safer,” she said.
“Excavators, in some cases being safely held in place by a winch, have been casting the dirt from the top down, with trucks then picking up the material and carrying it from site. We’ve been able to remove a substantial amount of material through what has been a huge effort by the teams. It means a lot for them to be able to open this road back up for people and freight.” As well as removing material from the slips, drainage has also been installed to help to future proof stormwater resilience.
“Over the next few days, we will continue to remove material, finalise drainage and complete concrete stabilisation over an under slip. Along with this work, we will complete pavement repairs on other sections of the road, hydroseeding (planting) over slip areas and general maintenance,” said Hori-Hoult.
“Once the road is open again on Monday, we will still be on site removing material from the southern slip sites. Traffic management along with a temporary speed limit will still be in place. We know that this route is a crucial connection to and from Northland for both people and freight, so getting it to a point we can fully reopen is a massive feat,” she said.
“We’d like to thank you for your patience, understanding and support as we have worked through this.”
While the road will be open, Hori-Hoult said Waka Kotahi will be closely monitoring it along with the weather and will not hesitate to close the road if it becomes unsafe.
