The aftermath of last week's storm that cut State Highway 1 south of Kawakawa shows why the main alternative route north - Mangakahia Rd - should become a state highway, Northland Regional Transport Committee chairman John Bain says.
The storm caused a huge slip near Maromaku that wiped out a large part of SH1, leaving two options - SH12 through Waipoua Forest, adding about two hours to the journey, or Mangakahia Rd, which can add up to an hour.
But higher traffic volumes on Mangakahia Rd, which runs between SH12 at Kaikohe and SH14 at Maungatapere, had caused the surface conditions to deteriorate. Yesterday the road was closed for about 30 minutes near its intersection with Ngapipito Rd because the surface was cracking from an associated slip.
Mr Bain said while the committee had not had a chance to discuss the widespread roading damage caused by the storm or the implications for Mangakahia Rd, his view was that the road would need to be made a state highway - and be the responsibility of central government rather than the Whangarei and Far North District councils - to protect the region's growing economy.
He said that during the past decade or so about $60million had been spent on upgrading Mangakahia Rd to the standard it was today, but far more would be needed to get it up to state highway standard. Compounding the issue was that it cost more to construct roads in Northland because of its difficult geology.