Kaikoura road, rail to reopen at 4pm

TranzCoastal passing the Kaikoura Range. Photo / Supplied

KiwiRail will use one lane of State Highway 1 south of Kaikoura as a temporary rail line as the coastal arterial route reopens this afternoon, following last week's gargantuan slip.

The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) confirmed at lunchtime today that one lane of the road would reopen at 4pm.

It will be controlled by stop-go signs around the clock, meaning motorists could still expect delays of up to 30 minutes as stabilising work continues at the site.

"Depending on how stabilising and clearing work goes we would expect to have both lanes of the highway open within two days," said NZTA Canterbury state highways operations manager Peter Connors.

Mr Connors said the patience of road users and businesses during this trying time had been "outstanding".

"Most understood the huge job contractors faced to clear the slip and were appreciative of the efforts they were making to get this key freight route open as quickly as possible. The 30,000 cubic metre slip is one of the largest to close a state highway in recent times."

It was important to get the vital freight route open to help re-build the Canterbury region after the earthquake. "We have been working around the clock to make this happen."

Mr Connors said there had been a real team effort right across the board to get the highway operating again, with the Hurunui and Kaikoura district councils providing a local road detour and Te Runanga o Kaikoura and Environment Canterbury also helping.

KiwiRail said it was confident trains will be running between Picton and Christchurch later today following the clearing of the massive slip.

To help speed up the flow of essential goods into quake-stricken Christchurch, KiwiRail will run additional trains overnight tonight.

The full TranzCoastal passenger service will resume tomorrow.

- NZPA