Truck drivers wait at the SH5 closure in Esk Valley. Photo / Warren Buckland
Falling pine trees closed State Highway 5 between Napier and Taupō for more than 17 hours, too long for one impatient truckie.
Ten trees came down on Tuesday evening after heavy rain and high winds, resulting in the closure of the road overnight.
A Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency spokeswoman said the road reopened at 12.40pm today after crews conducted work on-site to clear the trees and repair powerlines.
The spokeswoman said no damage to the road occurred.
NZTA Waikato system manager Cara Lauder said a truck attempted to sneak through the road closure, but was unsuccessful.
"The truck driver attempted to get through the trees and became stuck, but was unharmed," she said. "Our traffic management crews were able to assist him to remove his truck."
Lauder said it was not a common occurrence, but can happen from time to time as it was not feasible to station traffic management staff at every access point.
"Once the closure is in place, crews drive the length of the road to look for any people caught out, and tell them to turn back," she said.
There were three separate cordons on the road – two at the Napier end and one at the Taupō end.
Contractors were unable to remove the trees earlier because of strong winds which continued to blow over more trees throughout the night.
The spokeswoman said the trees were on private land and plans to harvest these trees were under way prior to the incident.
Wild weather across the country also caused havoc along other roads including part of State Highway 2, near Twyford, on Tuesday.
A section of SH2 was closed from 5.30pm on Tuesday following a car crash at the roundabout with Evenden Rd.
Traffic was down to one lane with traffic management in place, a police spokeswoman said.
A St John Ambulance spokeswoman confirmed they attended the crash and one patient was treated on site.
Tarawera Café, on SH5, said despite the road closure and what MetService said was 154mm of rain in 36 hours around Te Haroto, the weather hadn't caused any further issues.
"We got a decent fall of rain, but we certainly needed it. We see it more as a positive than a negative," a spokesman said.
"The highway being shut is the only thing that's affected us."
Strong to gale force south easterlies over the North Island eased this morning, with the strong wind warning and watch lifted.
Tomorrow some drizzle is expected in Te Urewera, while cloud and fine spells are due south of Wairoa in the afternoon.
The southerlies are due to gradually die out across the region, according to MetService.
Friday will be fine across Hawke's Bay, with some light winds.
This summer will be critical to discover if the sharks have started returning.