Northland's SH1 Brynderwyn Hills to temporarily reopen on Friday

March 28, 2023

State Highway 1 over Northland's Brynderwyn Hills will temporarily reopen in both directions from noon on Friday — the first time since Cyclone Gabrielle struck last month.

Traffic management and a temporary speed limit will be in place to allow motorists to travel in and out of the region over the Easter break, Waka Kotahi said.

The road will then close in both directions for two weeks from April 17 to complete major earth works and install drainage, before its permanent reopening in May.

"The team has put in a huge amount of mahi to get the road open in both directions," Waka Kotahi's regional manager maintenance and operations, Jacqui Hori-Hoult, said.

"I am immensely proud of our people, contractors and consultants who have worked tirelessly over the past two months.

"We know however that we still have a lot of work to do to provide access as usual to Northland road-users."

Hori-Hoult said teams of workers "have cleared approximately three Olympic sized swimming pools of material from the Brynderwyn Hills" to date, "but there is still the equivalent of another 20 to go".

"There are up to seven teams working through the site at any given time, clearing multiple overslips and cutting tracks to access the top of the major slip," she said.

"At the major underslip they have installed 48 reinforcing bars and concreted so that the road can open this Friday."

Teams will also be installing anchors in a retaining wall and configuring barriers in time for Friday's temporary reopening.

The transport agency said it will continue to monitor the road and weather conditions.

"We won't hesitate to close the road at short notice should conditions become unsafe for road users," Hori-Hoult said.

"We know that this route is a crucial connection to and from Northland for both people and freight, so getting it fully reopened is a priority. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through this.

"We ask drivers to drive to the conditions and be patient with other drivers and our crews."

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