Road crews restore

The last closed section of State Highway 6 between Blenheim and Nelson has reopened.

The section of road had been closed for more than a week, after being damaged by flooding and slips from a four-day deluge in Te Tauihu.

Before the road opened at 1pm on Wednesday, a queue of vehicles several hundred metres long had formed in the Rai Valley village. It was formed mainly of truck drivers, but also people returning to Nelson from holiday.

Nelson holidaymakers Daniel King and Amber Turvey had extended their break to ensure they could drive back home via SH6 rather than going the long way around, once they got off the ferry in Picton.

King thought it was ‘‘Murphy’s law’’ that both main routes between Nelson and Picton closed before they were set to leave on their pre-booked holiday to Wellington. To get to the Picton ferry terminal last week, King said, it took nine hours to drive there via Lewis Pass and Kaiko¯ ura. ‘‘It was insane.’’

Car transporter Grant Palmer, from Blenheim, had the first truck in the queue. The closure of the highway had forced him to take a long detour via Christchurch.

He said the road reopening would be a big help, as the company he worked for had been ‘‘forking out more for fuel’’.

‘‘You can’t do much about it when nature calls.’’

Palmer said he was impressed by the time it took for road crews to get the route back open, considering the flood and slip damage. ‘‘They’ve got it up and running in no time.’’

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said the section over the Whangamoa Saddle, between Hira and Rai Valley, was the most badly damaged section of the highway. Getting it open for road users had required ‘‘a massive effort’’,