Several days of heavy rain caused a large slip at Lemon’s Hill on State Highway 11 between Kawakawa and Paihia in February 2018. Access along the highway was affected for some months, with continued rain and unstable conditions complicating repair works.
Weeks of persistent heavy rain in January 2018 weakened the hillside above SH11 at Lemon’s Hill and a large slip came down on 13 February. This was followed by Cyclones Fehi and Gita, which hampered the slip clearance work.
It took five months of hard work, and the removal of 50,000 cubic metres of loose material and trees, to stabilise the hillside.
The slip works caused road closures and disruption for locals and visitors to the Bay of Islands until July 2018, when the road was reopened to two-way traffic.
Crews cut five big benches into the hillside and planted new grass and native bush to aid regeneration.
Resealing of the state highway was completed in March 2019.
