Storm-damaged State Highway 31 – the only sealed road in and out of the seaside town of Kawhia – will be fully open next week.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency says repairs to an underslip on a narrow part of the road between SH39 and Kawhia town are wrapping up, but bad weather has delayed getting both lanes open until next week.
Three truck-loads of concrete are booked for the site on Friday and the road will reopen from 5.30pm that day at single lane for the weekend and into Monday and Tuesday while finishing works are done.
Contractors expect both lanes to be open to traffic from 5.30pm Tuesday, May 16.
“This has been a very challenging project for our staff and contractors, including some specialist geotechnical design and repair teams, so to get this resolved within months of the damage occurring is great for everyone involved and the community and businesses affected,” says Waka Kotahi System Manager for Waikato, Cara Lauder.
Cracks in the road and subsidence were found in February, leading to a lane closure while a fix was investigated and designed.
Repairs started on 11 April requiring lengthy day-time closures during the working week, with traffic allowed through around lunchtime for an hour.
“Our thanks go to all road users who have been impacted by the day-time closures – we understand this has been a major inconvenience but the worksite was so narrow there was no way to have workers, trucks and drilling rigs on the site while traffic was passing,” Ms Lauder says.
“Outside those work-day closures, keeping the road open at single lane since mid-February has been a major focus.”
The site has been stabilised through soil-nailing, which strengthens weak and unstable ground. Forty-four 9-metre-long steel bars were driven into the bank below the road to stabilise it and form a platform for a rebuild.
About 800 vehicles a day use Kawhia Road and around 13 percent are trucks.
