Large slips block roads in and out of two Wellington suburbs

The slip continued to come down after it was first cleaned up. Photo / WCC

Wellington City Council has reported a large slip outside the Karori tunnel, blocking the lane entering the suburb.

The council has advised contractors are on the way to assess the situation and motorists should use alternative routes.

It comes as the main route in and out of Wadestown has been kept closed this weekend, with heavy rain further threatening a landslide that's already come down twice.

The slip toppled onto Wadestown's Lennel Rd after wild weather lashed the region last week.

The conditions left a ferry stuck in the harbour for hours, tore the roof off a cafe in Lower Hutt, damaged vehicles, and grounded all flights in and out of the city.

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The slip was cleaned up and big concrete blocks were installed to protect the road from the crumbling hillside.

But on Thursday a large tree fell onto the road in the same area.

The original slip on Lennel Rd in Wadestown. Photo / Supplied

Wellington City Council said a crew worked hard to clean up the road again, however it will remain closed between Barnard St and Sefton Rd until early next week due to more wet weather being forecast.

The capital is in for a soggy weekend, with MetService issuing a heavy rain watch. A period of heavy rain is forecast to fall overnight between the hours of 1am and 8am.

A crew will be back on site in Wadestown on Monday to assess the aftermath.

Onslow Western Ward councillor Diane Calvert took a look yesterday and said she expected it would be a "massive" long-term repair job.

"The slip has caused a huge open scar on the bank exposing what looks like very loose and unstable clay and no easy fix."

A crew managed to clear the slip earlier this week. Photo / WCC

She said residents hadn't seen slips like this one before on the road, although one person noted there has been gradual gouging in parts of the bank over time.

Calvert said they were worried about the long-term stability of the steep bank and wanted assurance from the council it would be fixed as a priority.

Meanwhile, in the neighbouring suburb of Ngaio, work is still ongoing to stabilise a landside that came down there in 2017.

The total cost to fix the Ngaio Gorge slip was estimated to be $11 million when construction started two years ago.

The city council has built a shipping container wall filled with concrete blocks to act as a barrier in the meantime.

Big concrete blocks were installed to protect the road from any further slips. Photo / WCC