Te Whaiti Rd to reopen today

Te Whaiti Rd near Minginui has been sufficiently restored after April storm damage. Photo/Supplied

Te Whaiti Rd near Minginui will be reopened to all traffic from 5pm today after it was damaged during the April storms.

According to the Whakatane District Recovery Project Facebook page, the road has been sufficiently restored to be reopened.

The Whakatane District Council acknowledged all of the local communities which were affected by the closure and thanked residents for their tolerance, patience, understanding, and strong support.

The council also acknowledged and thanked all of the contractors who had been working continuously for the past 12 weeks to clean up and repair the many damaged sections of Te Whaiti, Minginui, Ruatahuna, and Waikaremoana Rds.

While the roads in the southern-most part of the district were now open to the public, repair work is still under way along the whole route, up to and beyond Ruatahuna and Minginui Rd.

Contractors will work on the remaining repair jobs for another six to eight weeks.

Motorists should still expect to encounter work sites with traffic control and there will be occasions when they will face short delays.

There are also a number of sections of road that needed to be resealed, however this work cannot be done until the spring or early-summer when conditions improved.

The public was warned that parts of the road, while driveable, would still be soft and slushy and there were still multiple areas where caution and careful driving would be required.

Road users are reminded to at all times to:
- Drive to the conditions,
- Ensure you are able to stop within half the road length you can see ahead of you.
- Drive with your headlights on day and night.
- Watch out for contractors on the road.
- Expect the unexpected and drive safely.

Te Whāiti Road Opening Today Te Whāiti Road has been restored sufficiently for it to be reopened to all traffic, as...

Posted by Whakatāne District Recovery Project: Kia manawanui on Thursday, 6 July 2017