State Highway 3, south of Mokau to remain open to one lane

The NZ Transport Agency is advising motorists that State Highway 3, south of Mokau will remain open to one lane under stop/go conditions until long term protection measures can be re-installed on the cliff face.

This follows a major slip blocking the road from Sunday 18 September, triggered by a large amount of rain over the weekend.

“Our geotechnical engineers have advised us that there is still a risk to road users if the southbound lane is re-opened. We expect that it will take around two months to re-install the protective mesh that will help prevent further slips onto the road. Until the installation is complete we will continue to operate this section of the road as one lane under stop/go control, and motorists may experience minor delays,” Karen Boyt, Regional Performance Manager, NZ Transport Agency says.

“We will have contactors on site 24/7 to ensure that traffic flows smoothly and to provide on-going monitoring of the rock face so that they can spot any risks of further rock fall.

In the short term we will continue to use an abseil team to help shift loose rocks safely, and then contractors will start the installation of the protective mesh, so motorists will notice crews working on and around the cliff face. We remind motorists to keep their eyes on the road as they travel through the slip site,” Ms Boyt says.

“We appreciate motorists’ patience while our contactors worked hard to get this important route between Taranaki and the Waikato re-opened. Two hundred cubic metres of rocks and dirt - enough to fill three, 40 foot shipping containers – were removed. While we can’t completely remove the risk of a major slip happening again on this site, the protective measures that we will put in place over the next couple of months will go a long way to help protect road users from any further major slips.”

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