Highway access an issue again

NEW SLIP: A large slip came down across State Highay 35 at Cape Runaway on the East Cape late Sunday afternoon. Picture supplied

Highway access to the district from the north has been disrupted again in the past 24 hours with State Highway 2 closed again briefly yesterday and State Highway 35 closed overnight.

The coast highway was shut late yesterday afternoon when a large slip came down Cape Runaway on the East Cape.

It was still closed this morning.

The New Zealand Transport Agency had not been able to provide an update on the slip clearance work when The Herald went to print today.

Their website indicated that the highway would be closed at that point “until further notice”.

“Our contractors are still assessing the extent of the slip,” an NZTA spokeswoman said.

The slip came down at around 5pm yesterday afternoon and blocked the whole road.

The Herald was told a farmer cut a roadside fence and used a tractor to create a pathway around the slip site that four wheel drive vehicles were able to use overnight.

“This morning the road contractors shut the road altogether,” a woman who drove through the site said.

“The contractors told me they did not think they would get the road cleared today. Probably not until sometime tomorrow.”

The Waioeka gorge road was closed at around 6am yesterday morning due to poor weather conditions.

The NZTA said the closure was done as a safety precaution.

“An assessment was carried out in daylight and the road was re-opened at 8.15am yesterday, with stop/go traffic signals in place.”

The temporary closure was put in place at the major slip site in the gorge.