Photo / Supplied
The Karamea highway will gradually reopen from today after the town was nearly completely cut off for 12 days.
A section of the highway over the Karamea Bluff was severely damaged by slips triggered by heavy rain which struck the Buller District this month.
Road access to and from Karamea had been cut off since February 9 but on February 13 it was moved onto an Access Control Regime which allowed three trips through per day.
The Buller District Council will open the highway from 9am on Monday to allow traffic to access and leave the town throughout the day.
Manager infrastructure delivery Eric de Boer said: “During the last week all traffic over the Karamea Bluff was under a strict access control plan, with three escorted trips through per day. This allowed our contractor to make good progress on road stabilisation.
“We are now at a stage where the road can be reopened from next week, but there will still be sections of road that are under active traffic control and users may experience some delays while contractors’ heavy machinery is working in those locations,” he said.
While the road will be open to traffic; road users are still required to follow all temporary traffic management and directions of staff onsite, he said.
The main site that may experience delays is the “Seven Sisters” site on the Karamea side of the Bluffs.
“This site will have large ground stabilisation equipment working in the centre of the road; meaning the road may be closed for up to an hour at a time.”
To inform of any significant delays at the “Seven Sisters” site, the public variable message signboards are located along State Highway 67 near the Pines Tavern, at the Mokihinui Lewis St corner and at the Little Wanganui bridge.
WestReef staff and their contractors have been hard at work removing 30 large slips and widened critical areas to allow vehicles to safely pass through the most severely affected sections of the highway, he said.
“I am incredibly proud of the work our contractors have done on stabilising the areas of concern along the Karamea Highway. There is, however, more work to do to ensure full restoration and to re-establish service levels along this critical roading lifeline that leads into the Karamea Basin.
“We thank all the road users for their patience and support while we continue this work for the foreseeable future.”
– NZ Herald
Keyword: Karamea Highway reopening this week after work to clear 30 slips