North Island road closures: Aerial video shows extent of damage to Coromandel’s State Highway 25A

Shocking footage shot from a light aircraft this weekend shows the sheer enormity of the task facing Waka Kotahi to repair the State Highway 25A Kopu to Hikuai route, one of the main arteries linking western and eastern Coromandel.

Philip Hart, an accountant and keen amateur pilot from Whitianga, shot the videos during flights over the area on Saturday and Sunday.

They show the road has been washed out by a huge river of mud that cascaded downhill for several kilometres — destroying everything in its path, including native trees and bush.

“It was quite amazing. I had no idea that it went so far,” he told the Herald of the “massive scar” and mud flow caused by the collapse. “It’s taken the road out but it’s also taken out half the hill beside the road.”

Engineers are currently assessing the damage and are making borehole and pit assessments of the terrain to determine the stability of the ground.

A timeframe for the restoration of the road is not known. The road is closed until further notice.

The transport agency had already restricted access to the roadway last month due to large cracks across the pavement in the wake of ex-Cyclone Hale.

The large collapse near the road’s summit occurred after the region was hit again in recent days, this time with the same storm that caused flooding throughout Auckland.

“Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency appreciates just how important this highway is to the Coromandel and that the latest photos of the collapse will be disheartening,” the agency said in a release on Monday.

David Speirs, the agency’s director of regional relationships for the Waikato and Bay of Plenty, said more damage had been expected prior to the latest storm “but it’s still a shock to see the total collapse of a road that is so vital to this community”.

On Friday, Waikato system manager Cara Lauder said the road will need a “longer-term” solution.

State Highway 25A on the Coromandel Peninsula has completely collapsed near the summit after heavy rain. Photo / Supplied

“As soon as possible we will commence geotechnical investigations to help develop a plan for the appropriate repair,” she said in a statement.

Speirs described the situation as complex due to the geography of the area and the amount of road surface and earth that had slid away.

“We understand how frustrating the closure is for locals and visitors, and appreciate the need for certainty about how long a rebuild will take,” he said in the Monday release.

“Unfortunately we cannot offer this yet. Please bear with us while we are in the emergency response phase of an evolving situation.”

Hart, who uses the road for a once-a-week work commute, said the closure has added 30 minutes to an hour to his trip. But he reckons he a lucky one, as opposed to freight operators who depend on it more often.

“We’re pretty rugged on the Coromandel, so we’ll manage,” he said of the many residents who will be put out by the closure.

But that doesn’t mean he’s optimistic of a quick fix.

“It’s a big job,” he said. “It’s a bastard, really. I don’t expect it to be fixed for a year or so.”