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Kia ora koutou,

Welcome to this update on the State Highway 1 Mangamuka Gorge slip repairs.

The state highway is currently closed between Makene Road and Raetea North Side Camping Area, south of Kitchen Road.

Crews have made significant progress on works since the road was closed for a second time on 11 January, enabling a short-term Easter opening.

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Restoring two lanes of highway

Work is progressing on cutting into the hillside above the road (see below) at the site of the main slip on State Highway 1. This work is complex but fine weather recently has meant overall progress has been good.

We are currently removing earth in order to create enough width to restore the road to two lanes. We are also working carefully to secure large posts for a retaining wall which will help keep the hillside stable.

We are continually monitoring the hillside to ensure there is no new earth movement. An historic slip above the road could be reactivated if the earth is unduly disturbed during building of the retaining wall.

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When will the road be open?

We plan to have the road fully restored to two lanes by mid-2021. It could be sooner, depending on the weather and work progress. For now, we ask motorists and the local community to bear with us as we work as quickly as possible to complete the work.

We understand that access through the gorge provides a much-needed break for locals from the extra time and cost of having to use the SH10 detour route, which can add 30 minutes to their journey. We also appreciate that allowing road users to travel through the gorge helps the local economy.

To support local communities and visitors to the region we are opening the gorge at Easter time. One lane of the road will be open to convoys of light vehicles during the busy holiday period. For details about the Easter opening, click here. For a map and summary, click here.

We will also be looking to open the road to convoys on most weekends after Easter if the initial convoys work well and there is sufficient public demand.

We continue to evaluate our work programme with our contractors for opportunities to open the highway at pre-arranged times to some vehicles.

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Retaining wall posts (top picture), earthmoving (middle) and large machinery (bottom) at the main slip

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Good progress at the main slip

Waka Kotahi continues repairing the highway in the Managamuka Gorge, focussing on ensuring the future safety and reliability of the state highway network.

Crews have been working weekend shifts to get the job done as quickly as possible.

The next stage of the repair is widening the road to two lanes (details above) and installing capping beams that add to the stability of the pile wall.

Once the road is rebuilt back to the full two lane highway, the capping beams will become part of the road substructure.

While complex work with heavy machinery continues, the state highway remains closed between Makene Road and Raetea North Side Camping Area, south of Kitchen Road.

Waka Kotahi is working closely with our contractors to establish whether the road could be partially opened once all the piling work requiring larger machinery is complete.

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More information

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For more information on the SH1 Mangamuka Gorge slip repairs, contact us at northlandproject@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/mangamuka

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