30 September 2013 | NZ Transport Agency - Southern Region

State Highway 6 remains closed between Haast and Makarora

State Highway 6, between Haast and Makarora, remains closed after 20,000 tonnes of rock and gravel fell onto the highway at Diana Falls during the weekend.

The NZ Transport Agency's Senior Asset Manager West Coast Mark Pinner says the contractors worked over the weekend to clear the road; however they have been unable to get it re-opened today despite their best efforts.

"There is no immediate engineering solution to resolve the issues created by heavy rain falling on the slip face and feeding the waterfalls which are also running across the slip face.

"This is resulting in continued uncertainty during heavy rain with route access along this section of State Highway 6," he says.

"For at least the short term, particularly when there is heavy rain in the area, we expect there will continue to be disruption to traffic."

Mr Pinner says the Transport Agency is continuing to explore new options to stabilise the slip face.

"With more rainfall forecast in the next couple of days, motorists are advised that there could be further disruptions to travel later in the week."

He says he was unable to say when the highway would re-open. "Re-opening the highway is dependent on getting the road cleared and the stability of the slip face. Our next update will be at 9am tomorrow (Tuesday 1 October).

"While there is no alternative route through the West Coast to Otago, motorists can still travel to Haast township and return to Canterbury via Arthur's Pass, and southern visitors to Makarora can still access the township from State Highway 6."

ENDS

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