There has been significant damage to roads in West Auckland overnight with no road access currently available to the communities of Piha, Muriwai and Karekare, Auckland Transport says.

Heavy downpours and severe wind led to slips, fallen trees and power lines, and isolated instances of flash flooding across Auckland overnight.

Auckland Transport’s Executive General Manager Safety Stacey van der Putten says West Auckland was particularly hard hit by the effects of ex-Cyclone Gabrielle last night.

“The conditions in West Auckland overnight were so severe that one of our roading crews had to seek emergency shelter after their vehicle was hit by a landslip in Karekare,” Ms van der Putten says.

“Fortunately the crew were able to safely make it to shelter, but it led to us making the decision to stand down our crews until it was safe for them to resume work earlier this morning.

“There are currently about 30 roads across Auckland with full road closures in place, and there are dozens more roads across the region with partial lane closures in place.

“Some of the most significant damage is to roads in the Waitakere Ranges and in West Auckland more broadly, but significant roads in central Auckland like Tāmaki Drive are also currently closed.

“Our focus this morning is on assessing the damage across our whole road network and working out how we can restore road access, particularly to the communities of Piha, Muriwai and Karekare.

“We have more than 500 people from our road maintenance contractors working across Auckland this morning to assess damage, clear roads and restore access as quickly as possible.”

Aucklanders advised to remain home and to expect significant public transport disruptions

Auckland Transport is once again asking Aucklanders to stay home if possible today since strong winds are expected to make travel across the region unpredictable.

Ms van der Putten says traffic volumes have been low again today on Auckland’s roads, showing that Aucklanders have been continuing to follow official advice to limit non-essential travel.

“Our focus today is on assessing the damage across our road network and starting to plan for how we can reopen roads and restore access to isolated communities.

“It will be much easier for our roading crews to be able to do this work if Aucklanders keep clear of road closure sites and limit travel through affected areas.”

Public transport services in Auckland will continue to be disrupted today, with train services still suspended as a result of KiwiRail’s network-wide rail closure.

Most ferry services are cancelled because of rough harbour conditions, while bus services are operating broadly as usual but with additional cancellations, delays and detours in place due to road closures.

For information and updates please use the following:

• For updates on the overall transport network and travel advice visit the AT website at at.govt.nz/weatherwatch.
• For detailed public transport travel information and journey planning – visit the AT Mobile app and Journey Planner

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