Following the removal of material from the site of a large slip near Waiotahe Beach, State Highway 2 re-opened to all traffic last night.
The site was under stop/go traffic management from the afternoon of Saturday 22 October 2022, after contractors made enough progress to allow a single lane past the site.
Further work was completed yesterday, Tuesday 25 October, to return the road to full operation, and contractors have now removed machinery from site. Detailed geotechnical assessment has taken place and will help determine if any further resilience work is required at the site.
The swift response from contractors has enabled us to re-open the road promptly, says Roger Brady, Bay of Plenty System Manager at Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.
“It’s estimated that over 10,000 cubic metres of material came down onto the road, which is enough to fill four Olympic-size swimming pools. To have this removed and the road re-opened with a four-day period is a fantastic effort.
“Contractors worked into the long weekend for the benefit of both residents and those visiting the region on holiday, and this is much appreciated. Work recommenced yesterday and the team were able to complete works and fully re-open the road.
“Both Waka Kotahi and our contractors would like to extend our thanks to road users, who were initially detoured via Ōpōtiki District Council roads, and tolerated stop/go traffic management past the site since Saturday afternoon.
Waka Kotahi is pleased to report that the road surface and underlying structure do not appear to have suffered any damage as a result of the slip material falling.
