Multiple slips close SH35 at Motu Bluffs

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

East Cape residents will get partial access to Ōpōtiki, after State Highway 35 was closed by multiple slips in the Motu Bluffs area.

The biggest slip has occurred in the same location that brought logs and debris cascading down the hillside across the highway in front of a carload of fishermen returning to Auckland some weeks ago.

Heavy rain over the past week has brought down the slips along the section of SH35 between Hawai and Omaio.

The highway is closed to traffic other than residents.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency says resident access through the work site will be made available from 8am-9am, 12pm to 1pm and from 5.30pm-6.30pm daily until full reopening is possible.

No detour is available.

In the Gisborne district, the recent heavy rain has added to the Cyclone Gabrielle recovery work, with at least half a dozen new jobs added to the list.

The district council road closures list shows 34 roads needing work, and of these, 13 are now closed to traffic. — RH