KEY POINTS:
A crew rebuilding a bridge linking Cape Reinga and other far northern areas with the rest of New Zealand is making good progress, Transit NZ Northland engineer Richard Green says.
The Mitimiti Bridge, north of Te Kao, was closed on Wednesday after severe flooding washed away an embankment.
The collapse effectively cut off several communities -- about 500 people -- as the bridge is part of State Highway 1, the only major road in the isolated area.
Mr Green said today Transit hoped to have the bridge repaired by Sunday and a work crew was making good progress on rebuilding the embankment.
However, there were risks.
"We also have to be quite careful on how we bring the fill up. We are in danger of damaging the (bridge) structure if we don't do it right," Mr Green said on Radio New Zealand.
"We've got one of the abutments sitting on its own basically without any landfill support. So it's important as we bring this landfill up around it we don't tip it over."
Mr Green said crews were expected to be on the job for about 14 hours today and it was possible the job could be finished by Saturday night.
Even so, it was unlikely it would be reopened before Sunday morning.
He said there had been more overnight rain in the storm-hit region, but it had caused no serious problems after the heavy rain eased on Wednesday night and water levels slowly dropped yesterday leaving residents and Far North District Council staff to mop up.
Council chief executive Clive Manley said the cut-off communities were coping well, but some tourists were keen to get out.
Some had been flown out yesterday and attempts to take others out by vehicles along 90-Mile Beach would be made today.
He said the council was investigating establishing a permanent alternative road in case it encountered the same situation in the future.
- NZPA
