SH1 and rail south of Kaikoura opened

Photo / NZPA

State Highway 1 and the railway line south of Kaikoura reopened to traffic late this afternoon, after last week's gargantuan slip blocked access into Canterbury from the north for nearly a week.

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) reopened the southbound lane of SH1 at 4pm while KiwiRail was using the northbound lane as a temporary rail line, NZTA spokesman Bob Nettleton said.

Staff would be on hand to control stop-go signs around the clock and motorists should still expect delays of up to 30 minutes, Mr Nettleton said.

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

The patience of road users and businesses during this trying time had been "outstanding", he said.

"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."

There had been a real team effort 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, Mr Connors said.

KiwiRail said the full TranzCoastal passenger service would not resume until tomorrow but should be running between Picton and Christchurch by the end of today.

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

- NZPA