Main road link reopens
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 Kaikōura. ‘‘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’’, said transport systems manager for top of the south Andrew James.
‘‘Over the last five days, we’ve had over 70 people working in the section each day. The crews have removed around 12,000 tonnes of spoil and debris.
‘‘Another 12,000 tonnes of hard fill have been brought in, and 300 tonnes of asphalt has been laid.
‘‘Six 31-tonne dump trucks and 10 diggers have been flat out getting the road in a safe condition for vehicles to use it.’’
James said SH6 between Blenheim and Nelson was in nowhere near the state it was in before the floods.
‘‘What we have in place now are temporary measures to allow the road to reopen.
‘‘Much more work will be needed to bring the road back up to its previous condition.’’
Further closures of SH6 are expected to allow significant repairs to be carried out.
‘‘This won’t happen until after State Highway 63 through the Wairau Valley is reopened, and an alternate route between Nelson and Blenheim is available,’’ James said.
Waka Kotahi is urging residents and road users to drive carefully when using the highway, to keep travel to essential needs to minimise wait times, and to be aware that more bad weather could see the highway closed at short notice.
In the meantime, SH63 between Renwick and St Arnaud remains shut until at least the week of September 12, with the road taking longer to fix because of a washed-out bridge.
‘‘Much more work will be needed to bring the road back up to its previous condition.’’
Andrew James,
Waka Kotahi NZTA