State Highway 6, between Haast and Makarora, will re-open to single-lane traffic at noon today (Tuesday 1 October) after being closed at the weekend when 20,000 tonnes of rock and gravel fell onto the highway at Diana Falls.
The NZ Transport Agency's Senior Asset Manager West Coast Mark Pinner says the contractors have worked tirelessly for the last three days to clear the road and reinstate single-lane access through the area.
"The road will continue to be closed each night from 6pm to 8am to ensure the safety of all motorists travelling through the area."
He says there is no immediate engineering solution to resolve the issues created by heavy rain falling on the slip face and feeding the waterfalls which are running across the slip face.
"This is resulting in continued uncertainty with route access along this section of State Highway 6.
"For at least the short term, particularly when there is heavy rain in the area, we expect there will continue to be disruption to traffic."
He says with more rainfall forecast in the next couple of days, motorists are advised there could be further disruptions to travel later in the week.
"Technical experts are undertaking a review of the site and further engineering investigations are being completed to better understand what is happening at the site to determine what are the viable options for a long-term solution."
Mr Pinner says it is hoped these options will be known within the next couple of weeks.
