Slip that led to fatal crash: State Highway 2 near Wairoa likely to stay one lane for days

A slip near Wairoa has closed SH2. The road remains blocked between The Crescent and Kiwi Valley Rd. Photo / Paul Taylor

State Highway 2 just south of Wairoa will likely remain just one lane until at least the middle of the week as work continues to clear a slip.

Waka Kotahi said on Monday it was working to clear the slip, fatally hit by a car on Sunday.

The road reopened to one lane at midday on Monday after it had been completely closed for about 34 hours.

Heavy rainfall over the weekend led to the slip, which initially blocked both lanes of the road near the intersection with The Crescent.

“Waka Kotahi is advising drivers to expect delays, once the road is open, of up to 20 minutes when travelling through.

“The road will be under temporary traffic management and under a 30 km/h temporary speed restriction.

“Please delay your travel if you can while we work as quickly as possible to fully restore the connection.”

A Waka Kotahi spokesman said a geotechnician was at the site on Monday morning, and had confirmed there was no further movement overnight last night.

“Despite this, we understand there may still be potential for the ground to move,” the spokesman said.

“The safety of road users and crews working on clearing the slip material is our main priority and we’ve worked to put in place safety measures for any potential movement while contractors continue today to remove the slip material.”

He said the remainder of this clearing work, 2500 cubic metres of material in total, was likely to take the next couple of days.

“We will be continuing to closely monitor the area to ensure the safety of people driving through the area,” he said.

“The road is expected to remain open to one lane overnight tonight with a lower speed and traffic management temporarily in place.”

A person died on Sunday morning when a car hit the slip blocking SH2, which was reported at 4.40am, between Wairoa and Awamate Rd.

A police spokesman said that while the investigation was ongoing, it appeared the slip had already come down when the vehicle hit it.

Wairoa Mayor Craig Little said, in a statement, his heart went out to the family of anyone involved in Sunday morning’s fatal crash.

“I extend my sympathy and thoughts to the whānau,” Little said.

Little said it was unbelievable that Wairoa has been hit by extreme weather again.

“Farming is the backbone of our community, and it has been significantly impacted. This is particularly difficult as some farms were just recovering from previous events, and their repair work of fencing and tracking has now been undone,” he said.

On Sunday, 103.2mm of rain had been recorded in Wairoa in the 24 hours to 3pm.

Wairoa Civil Defence controller Juanita Savage said heavy rainfall on the ground that had already been saturated had significantly impacted rural communities with massive slips and access issues.

“Rural communities are suggesting the slipping and damage to land is greater than Cyclone Gabrielle,” Savage said.

“River and surface flooding have impacted the township and immediate surrounding areas – some properties have been affected for the third time this year. At this early stage, two homes have been identified as yellow/partial restriction as a result of Rapid Building Assessments. More assessments are still to be carried out.”

Savage urged people to look after themselves and each other.

“This is a challenging time, and our thoughts are with all our impacted whānau and our rural and farming communities.”