Last updated 15 July 2024
When will the road open?
The road is expected to reopen by Christmas this year.
Would you consider opening one lane sooner than Christmas?
We have reviewed opening one lane to traffic on several occasions. However, currently it remains unsafe for workers and road users to do so.
Will there be any remaining works after the road has opened?
After the road is open, further works may still take place such as de-establishing and cleaning up areas and reinstatement of fill sites. Some temporary traffic management may be needed such as reduced speed zones and stop/go controls.
Will rain affect work on site?
In heavy rain or during severe weather events, our people will stop work as it is not safe to work in very wet conditions, especially in a constrained environment like the gorge.
We continually monitor and assess weather conditions to ensure the safety of our people and to maintain the integrity of the road to ensure no further damage occurs.
Why don’t you build a tunnel or a new state highway?
Both options would require significant investment.
On average, the state highway through Mangamuka Gorge carries only about 1300 vehicles per day, as compared to somewhere like the Brynderwyn Hills, which carries approximately 10,000 vehicles per day (though this can vary depending on the season). This means the business case for such a large investment would be unlikely to meet the criteria for NZTA funding.
What’s happening with State Highway 10 (SH10)?
Slip repairs and bridge strengthening work on SH10 were undertaken as part of the emergency and recovery response work.
We also have a large amount of pavement maintenance work planned. This is part of our preliminary programme to improve the road surface along SH10, which is currently awaiting approval to be scheduled during the next National Land Transport Programme 2024-27 period.
What happens the next time the road needs to close or there’s another weather event?
These works ensure that if future slips do occur, the damage and impacts will be drastically reduced, and the road can be reopened quickly with as minimal disruption as possible. The risk of major underslips has been significantly reduced and is contained to non-upgraded sites.
However, we acknowledge the area will still be susceptible to slips, with the nature of the ground conditions within the Maungataniwha Range.
Due to the completed works, there will be more reliable and consistent access for communities even during weather events.
As part of the repair, we will be making the ground less susceptible to slips by improving the drainage through the gorge, so it’s more suitably equipped to handle future weather events.
Notably, the earlier repairs completed during the previous closure following the 2020 weather event have held up well and remained undamaged during the weather events of 2022, requiring no additional work to be undertaken in these areas.
