Nearly 100 roads across Auckland have been reopened since being affected by the Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods and Cyclone Gabrielle, Auckland Transport says.

In total more than 130 roads were closed or partially closed over the past month as a result of the severe weather events. As of today nearly 100 of these have been made safe and reopened for all traffic.

Auckland Transport Chief Engineer Murray Burt says Auckland Transport’s focus is on restoring access to the remaining roads still closed after Cyclone Gabrielle.

“We are reprioritising work across Auckland and deploying all of the resources needed to complete this work as quickly as possible,” Mr Burt says.

“As a result, some projects across the region have been paused while we redirect resources to support this critical recovery work.

“Our road maintenance teams have visited all 1300 slip sites to assess damage and to determine next steps, with geotechnical visits prioritised for areas like Piha, Bethells Beach and Rodney where more roads are affected.”

“I recently visited Scenic Drive in Piha and heard first-hand of the struggles people there are currently faced with. Recognising the work ahead, we have provided communities such as Piha and Great Barrier Island with some quick solutions to bring some normality.

“In Piha we have provided safe access for kids to get to their school buses and on Great Barrier Island we’ve provided teachers with access to school.

“We will continue to work closely with these communities and listen to their concerns as we keep them updated on progress and timeframes.”

Because of the scale of damage to Auckland’s roads it will still take some time before Auckland Transport will be able to share estimated timeframes for restoring access to all closed roads.

Auckland Transport’s road maintenance teams and contractors are applying an emergency design and build process to significantly reduce the time it takes reinstate infrastructure.

Aucklanders urged to avoid affected areas this weekend

Auckland Transport is urging Aucklanders to avoid traveling this weekend to communities with significant road closures still in place. Access to Karekare, Piha, Te Henga Bethells Beach, Muriwai, Anawhata, Huia, Little Huia and Whatipū remains compromised. Please stay away, and please do not add additional pressure to these communities by trying to visit them at this time.

At the request of local residents, Piha Road will be closed to everyone other than residents and emergency services from midday Friday by a cordon.

For the latest information on the repair and recovery process for roads across Auckland please visit www.at.govt.nz/roadrepairs.

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