Fresh bread, milk gets through
The washout cut the only road to Cape Re¯inga and the Far North. Residents have been stranded, and schools advised pupils affected by the road closure to stay home.
Fresh bread and milk finally got through to Far North residents on Monday, as crews worked to restore access after a washout on State Highway 1.
Two trucks delivered 50 crates of produce which were carried by hand to store owners waiting on the other side of the large hole in the road.
Earlier in the morning police led 25 vehicles on a convoy through forestry roads as they opened a lifeline for stranded residents.
Jacqui Hori-Hoult, Northland system manager for the NZ Transport Agency, said 22 vehicles travelled south while three made the northbound journey.
The convoys were to be repeated at 5.30pm for southbound traffic, and 6.15pm for northbound traffic. The alternative route is a ‘‘single muddy track’’ suitable only for four-wheel-drive vehicles, and police assessed vehicles and drivers for suitability before they were allowed to join the 40-minute convoy. The stretch of road south of Pukenui in the Far North was badly damaged in a storm on Friday afternoon.
The washout cut the only road to Cape Re¯ inga and the Far North.
Residents have been stranded, and schools advised pupils affected by the road closure to stay home on Monday.
NZ Transport Agency said the washout ‘‘punched a hole in the road about 20 metres wide and 4-5 metres deep’’ between Whalers Rd and Lamb Rd, about 40 kilometres north of Kaitaia.
‘‘Work crews are making good progress on rebuilding the road to reopen it to traffic by the middle of the week.’’
Nine of the 10 pipes required to channel the stream had been laid, and seven trucks were delivering about 5000 cubic metres of material needed to backfill the hole to road level.
The NZ Transport Agency was co-ordinating with forest owners, police and the Far North District Council to allow escorted convoys via the forest track, for essential travel only, on Monday and Tuesday.