Kaikōura SH1 closed south of the town after 2 pm – small slip near Rosy Morn, 3 km south of Peketa

The North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery team (NCTIR) has closed State Highway 1 between Peketa, south of Kaikōura, and the Leader Road*, near Parnassus, this afternoon.

A small slip, around 20 cubic metres of material, has covered the highway after a morning of steady rain. The slip, labelled 29A, is 3 km south of Peketa and just north of Rosy Morn (a site which originally slipped in the September 2010 earthquake). Slip 29A also caused problems last Easter after heavy rain, requiring a road realignment, still being completed.

The highway is not likely to reopen today, says NCTIR Network Operations Manager Tresca Forrester. “The geotechnical team will assess the site’s safety later today and first thing in the morning before deciding on whether or not the road can reopen tomorrow morning. The safety of our crews and road users is the priority here.”

• The next update will be 8am Saturday at this site: www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic/regions/11(external link)
• Drivers on the Picton to Christchurch route are encouraged to take the Lewis Pass road for the remainder of today and check the web for an update tomorrow morning after 8am.
• The highway north of Kaikōura remains open.
• Travellers between Christchurch and Kaikōura should use the Inland Road via Waiau (Route 70), which is open 24/7, but be aware there will be delays through this route with more traffic on it this afternoon.

*Residents living within this soft cordon at Leader Road, south of the slip, will have access to their homes.

Ways to find out what is happening on the highway network:

• NZ Transport Agency's travel and traffic page(external link) 
• Transport Agency Canterbury West Coast(external link) Twitter updates
• Transport Agency Facebook South Island(external link)
• Call 0800 4 HIGHWAYS 0800 44 44 49