Good weather on the West Coast of the South Island over the weekend has helped crews removing loose rocks at the Epitaph Slip’s steep faces, says NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA).
SH6 through South Westland was closed just over a week ago when record-breaking rain pummelled Otago and Westland, creating wide-spread flooding. Slips, rockfall and cracking in the highway, showing movement had occurred under the road, has kept this key section of highway closed since then.
“The crew was able to use the helicopter to sluice the highest parts of the rock face on Saturday and has completed most of the safety-critical rock removal over the past two days,” says Mark Pinner, System Manager for NZTA in the Central South Island.
The next stage, once there is no more risk of overhead rockfall, is to construct a bund around the base of the cliff face at the southern end to reduce the risk of any future rockfall making it onto the road, says Mr Pinner. That work will get underway on Monday alongside clearing the debris from the catchpit.
The bund will be constructed using rock which has fallen from the site to date.
“The scaling team will continue with preparation for removal of some of the larger rockfall features this week, in clear co-ordination with ground crews for everyone’s safety.
“Once we get this highway reopened in coming days, scaling and clean-up crews will continue to work at this site for some weeks so it will be a slower journey through this point for some time,” says Mr Pinner.
Cracks in the highway are being filled this week and drainage improvements installed to funnel water away from the area of recent movement.
NZTA understands the importance of this key route to the region, and work is being completed as quickly as possible to safely re-open the road, says Mr Pinner. NZTA is providing regular updates to local government, businesses and the Department of Conservation, to keep everyone informed.
“We know this is frustrating for hospitality and tourism operators on the West Coast and in Otago who rely upon the Haast/SH6 loop for much of their summer business. We are doing our best to return this road to everyone in a safe condition, ready for the months ahead.”
NZTA will provide a further update on Wednesday 5pm (20 November) which will include a definitive timeline for re-opening the road, with earlier updates if anything changes before then.
