Work has continued this morning to restore access to Auckland communities which remain isolated following the significant damage caused to roads by ex-Cyclone Gabrielle, Auckland Transport says.

Across Auckland there are currently 78 roads which have full closures in place, with a further 48 roads having partial closures or lane reductions in place.

Auckland Transport’s Executive General Manager Safety Stacey van der Putten says the scale of damage to the region’s road network has been unprecedented.

“The damage we’ve seen over the past few days from ex-Cyclone Gabrielle is unlike anything our roading crews have experienced before in Auckland,” Ms van der Putten says.

“Our main priority today is to restore some form of road access for those Auckland communities which are currently cut off, such as Piha, Muriwai and Karekare.

“Elsewhere in the region our focus is on ensuring that our roading network is safe for Aucklanders to use, which means more road closures may be put in place if further damage is identified.

“I want to stress today that because of the sheer scale of damage across our region’s roads it will take a significant period of time to rebuild and recover. For some roads we’re talking months, not days or weeks.

“Because of that our teams are also beginning to plan today for how we can communicate with local communities about the state of their local roads, and what the timeframes are for recovery.”

With today’s significantly better weather across the city Auckland Transport is also advising cyclists to take care and allow extra time, with a number of cycle paths blocked and many more covered with mud and debris.

Fewer disruptions expected for public transport services today

Auckland’s public transport network will largely be operating to usual weekday timetables today, although there will still be some disruptions:

Bus

Most scheduled bus services are running as usual today, but there are some delays, detours and cancellations across the network, especially up North and out West where there are more road closures. If you’re in these areas, please check before you travel and allow extra time.

With most Auckland schools having reopened today we are providing school bus services. As usual we have asked our operators to prioritise running school these services.

Train

Train services are running to schedule on the Eastern and Southern Lines today, while trains on the Western Line are operating half-hourly between Britomart and New Lynn, with hourly rail replacement buses in place between Britomart and Swanson.

Rail replacement services 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.

Ferry

Most ferry services have returned to their regular timetables today since conditions on the harbour have eased overnight, although Gulf Harbour services remain replaced by shuttles today.

Damage to the structure of Birkenhead wharf was identified last night which means Birkenhead ferry services will be replaced by alternative transport services today.

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

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