Road maintenance crews are working across Auckland to assess the damage caused to the region’s roads by ex-Cyclone Gabrielle overnight, Auckland Transport says.

Significant road closures remain in place across West and North Auckland, which have isolated the communities of Piha, Muriwai and Karekare and made Wellsford inaccessible from the south.

Auckland Transport’s Executive General Manager Safety Stacey van der Putten says damage to some roads is so significant that it is proving difficult for road crews to even access some sites of damage to carry out inspections.

“We appreciate how important it is to restore access to isolated communities across West and North Auckland, Ms van der Putten says.

“Our teams working closely with Auckland Emergency Management, Police and the Army to explore options for restoring some managed access to these communities since it’s not yet clear when roads will be able to be cleared and reopened.

“We appreciate how difficult it is for these communities to be isolated, so we want to assure residents that restoring some form of access is our top priority.”

With West Auckland communities hit especially hard by ex-Cyclone Gabrielle overnight, Waitakere Ward Councillor Shane Henderson is encouraging the community in the west to check on their neighbours.

“With power outages and the current difficulties reaching some areas in the west, people need to look out for each other,” Mr Henderson says.

“Until roads are cleared and support teams can get in, communities need to make sure their neighbours are ok or ask for help if they need it.”

Across the whole Auckland region there are currently more than 80 roads closed or partially closed, including closures on Waiheke Island and Rakino.

Over the past 18 hours Auckland Transport has received 206 calls from Aucklanders advising us of roading issues, and these have been added to the list of sites for our roading crews to assess and clear.

Some train services to resume from 3pm this afternoon

Following a full network inspection carried out by KiwiRail this morning, train services will resume operating today on the Eastern and Southern Lines. Bus replacements will continue operating until train services are up and running.

Trains are expected to start running shortly after 3pm on the Eastern and Southern Lines while fallen trees and a slip need to be cleared on the Western Line before services resume.

Rail replacement services will continue to operate in place of trains on the Onehunga Line and the Southern Line between Newmarket and Ōtāhuhu because of KiwiRail’s Rail Network Rebuild works.

Bus services are continuing to operate across Auckland today, but there will be some cancellations, delays and detours due to road closures and other disruptions across the road network.

Meanwhile, ferry services continue to be disrupted due to weather conditions on the Waitemata Harbour and Hauraki Gulf, with reduced timetables and cancellations in place. Services on most ferry routes will be suspended early tonight, so please check before you travel.

For information and updates please use the following:

• For updates on the overall transport network and travel advice visit the AT website at at.govt.nz/weatherwatch.
• For detailed public transport travel information and journey planning – visit the AT Mobile app and Journey Planner

© Scoop Media