A landslip closing northbound lanes on State Highway 2 near Omokoroa turnoff comes as no surprise to one Omokoroa resident who says he warned roading officials a large retaining wall erected last year did not extend far enough.
Brian Audas and his wife Kate farm a six-hectare lifestyle block adjacent to the Omokoroa turnoff.
Mr Audas said the very spot where there was a previous slip had slipped away and torn out drains. He said despite having a site meeting with the contractors while they were putting in the retaining wall last year he failed to convince engineers to extend the wall another 100m.
Mr Audas said after torrential rain overnight on Monday it was no surprised that there had been another slip. He said over the years there had been several bad slips at the front of his property.
"It defies belief that they would spend all this money to build a retaining wall but only fix half the problem," he said.
Rod James, NZ Transport Agency's state highway manager, said the slip that closed one lane on State Highway 2 near Omokoroa has been cleared and both lanes were opened about 10am yesterday. The slip material will be stored on the side of the road until it has drained enough to be loaded on to trucks for disposal.
Mr James said NZTA would then look into whether a more substantial remedy is required to permanently repair the site.
He said while the latest slip occurred beside a previous slip, the NZTA must balance the risk and costs. "It is unaffordable to treat every potential slip site in what is generally a geographically unstable area."
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