Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency road crews and geotechnical advisors are aiming to keep SH8 near the SH8B junction at Cromwell’s Deadmans Point, open overnight. The schist slope above the highway began to slip earlier today, with traffic reduced to one lane with close monitoring, to protect road users.
Two helicopter crews have spent more than two hours sluicing the unstable slope since 1 pm, when the fog cleared, with regular traffic delays and single lane traffic.
“The highway will have additional floodlights brought in and crews will be monitoring the area of unstable slope closely overnight,” says Mark Stewart, Maintenance Contract Manager, Waka Kotahi, Central Otago.
The two chopper crews will continue sluicing all this afternoon to remove as much loose material as they can, so road users should factor in delays, up to 30 minutes. Waka Kotahi thanks everyone for their patience while this safety work is underway.
The next update for the state of the highway is likely to be tomorrow morning after 8 am after a further geotechnical inspection.
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