Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency contractors are working hard to restore access to state highways affected by the extraordinary weather experienced in the upper North Island in the last 24 hours.

“Auckland has received an unprecedented amount of rain in a short period of time, which has had an unusual and severe impact on our network. We’ve never seen anything like it here,” says Jacqui Hori-Hoult, Regional Manager of Maintenance and Operations for Waka Kotahi.

Heavy rainfall has caused flooding across parts of Northland, Auckland and the Coromandel.

A high number of roads have been impacted by surface flooding and slips. Heavy rain is forecast to continue for the Auckland region, where a state of emergency has been declared. There is also a weather warning in place for the Bay of Plenty and road users are advised to check our journey planner before they travel.

“While we’re still in this emergency response phase, our priority is everyone’s safety and getting highways open as quickly as possible.

“Contractors worked hard in extreme conditions overnight to get State Highway 16 (SH16) open, carting 48 truckloads of slip material off the road from one site alone. Crews have also cleared the slip that closed State Highway 1 (SH1) at Dome Valley,” says Ms Hori-Hoult.

There is limited access between Auckland and Northland.

“A key challenge for us is SH1 over the Brynderwyn Hills where a number of trees have come down and sizeable slips have closed the highway from the State Highway 12 intersection to Waipu. We have multiple crews and geotechnical teams working to clear the road but it’s likely to remain closed for the remainder of today,” she says.

Multiple slips and fallen trees have closed SH1 over the Brynderwyn Hills

“We ask everyone to stay home where possible. If you must travel, exercise extreme caution. Drive to the conditions, which means keeping a safe following distance and dropping your speed. Be prepared for some road surfaces to be rough where rain has stripped top layers of the seal and watch for flooding and other debris on the road,” says Ms Hori-Hoult.

State Highway closures as of 1pm

SH 1 Orewa to Warkworth, Northbound:

• Due to slips and flooding, SH1 is closed between Woodcocks Road in Warkworth and Grand Drive in Orewa. Multiple crews working to clear but the road is not expected to open today.

Expect delays. Access is only via SH16 which is open but with surface issues due to scouring of the road surface.

Slips and large fallen trees have forced the closure of SH1 at Pūhoi

SH 1 Brynderwyn to Waipu:

• Due to a slips the Brynderwyn Hills, SH1 is closed from SH12 intersection to Waipu. Likely to be closed for remainder of today. Expect delays. Freight and heavy vehicles should detour via SH12 – light vehicles via Waipu/Mangawhai.

SH 1 Bawden Rd to Greville Rd:

• Due to a slip, SH1 between Bawden and Greville Rd Northbound one lane is open. Expect delays.

SH 1 Northbound Off-ramp to South Eastern Highway: Closed. Expect delays.

SH 16 Great North Road Off-ramp and Great North:

• Due to flooding and underslips, SH16 Great North Road off-ramp is closed. Expect delays.

SH 25 Thames to Coromandel:

• Due to a slip at Ruamahunga, the highway is closed between Waiomu and Tapu.
• No detour available.

SH 25A Kopu to Hikuai:

• Due to further cracking at a large washout location, SH25A between Kopu and Hikuai is closed until further notice. The Tapu-Coroglen and 309 roads are also closed.
• Detour is State Highway 2 via Karangahake Gorge.

Cracking has deteriorated at the summit of SH25A and a large section of the road has now slumped

SH29 Lower Kaimai to Tauriko:

• Due to a large slip at near Ruahihi Road the highway is closed between Poripori Road and Tauriko.
• A detour is available via Poripori Road.

Delays are likely in multiple locations as road crews work to restore state highway routes.

Waka Kotahi apologises for its updates and information about last night’s events not being as timely as they should have been. We know the public wants up to date information as quickly as possible in situations like this and we are sorry we did not meet those expectations.

Please check road and weather conditions before your journey:

Waka Kotahi Journeys

Metservice Weather Warnings

For more information on the Auckland storm event see:

https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/

https://at.govt.nz/

https://www.civildefence.govt.nz/

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