The slip on Helena Bay Hill spewed across the road but had been partially cleared by a local on a digger allowing traffic through when this photo was taken.
The slip on Helena Bay Hill spewed across the road but had been partially cleared by a local on a digger allowing traffic through when this photo was taken.
A slip across a section of Helena Bay Hill has been cleared, but it may take a bit longer to stabilise.
Whangarei District Council roading manager Jeff Devine said the slip was of medium size and, once the slip was cleared away on Monday, an assessment of the road andsite would be done to see what remedial work was required.
Peter Brown, of The Gallery and Cafe Helena Bay Hill, said he had been alerted to the slip which he understood had come down about 8.30am on Monday.
A white ute nearby was dwarfed by the slip and a man in high visibility orange also appeared.
It's not the first time a slip has caused major traffic disruption for regular users of the steep road.
A decade ago on March 29, 2007, storms dumped plenty of rain on the region, causing the waterlogged hill to slip, taking out part of the coastal road.
Residents living in the area had to use a long detour through rough roads to get to Whangarei. That repair job, which cost $900,000, involved constructing a rock buttress and retaining walls, and back filling the hole in the road with about 150 truckloads of suitable aggregate.
