The Takarau Gorge road, linking Johnsonville and Makara Beach in Wellington, will remain closed to through traffic for several weeks while extensive damage from the flood on 17 July is repaired. Local residents will still have restricted access to the road.

Wellington City Council Transport and Infrastructure Manager Brad Singh says several hundred metres of the road were “torn up and pretty much wrecked” after the Ohariu Stream became a raging torrent through the narrow gorge.

Mr Singh says sections of the roadway have been undermined and at least two culverts under the road will have to be replaced. He estimates the repair costs could total around $1.5 million.

Contractors have already started the repair job. Mr Singh says it is likely the damaged section will be reopened with a temporary gravel surface in a few weeks’ time and that resealing of the road will be carried out when warmer weather arrives later in the year.

Motorists can still reach Makara Beach via Karori and Makara Village.

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