Work on clearing and reopening the slip-blocked Manawatu Gorge stretch of State Highway 3 has been ramped up to a "24/7" operation.
New Zealand Transport Agency state highways manager for the region, David McGonigal, said work crews at the site achieved a milestone late last week when they wrapped up benching operations across the slip face. Four benching cuts were made across the slip, stabilising the area and making it secure enough for crews to now begin working at night.
NZTA has been targeting a reopening date of some time in July.
Mr McGonigal said work crews had so far removed 230,823 cubic metres of material from the slip face, and with the completion of the secure benching work crews could now begin an "all-out assault" on the rest of the slip.
"We've started a night shift from the Ashhurst end of the gorge," he said.
"This is a major development and it means we can go full-tilt, 24/7, carting from this side. But the slip still poses challenges for everyone on the job, so we will have an experienced spotter on-site to ensure the safety of the excavator operator, bulldozer operator and truck drivers."
He said the stabilisation work also meant a track had been created off the working platform down to the road at the Ashhurst end, which meant easier and more cost-effective movement of fuel and supplies to the site. That task was previously handled by helicopter.
Last week also saw engineers getting their first good look at damage the slip had inflicted on the bridge sections of the road.
"We've been able to take an early look, which has shown that some of the bridge beams have buckled and there are some pretty big cracks in the concrete. But we'll have to fully dig the road and bridges out before we can properly assess the damage and give a firm estimate on repair times."
Mr McGonigal said only a fraction of the bridging had been looked at.
Meanwhile, work was continuing on the alternative routes, particularly on the Woodville side of the Saddle Rd.
"We've got traffic using the new realignment on the Lower Saddle Rd Curve but there is still a fair bit of work to be done."
State Highway 2 between Wairoa and Napier was blocked yesterday afternoon after a slip north of Devil's Elbow, near the intersection of Kaiwaka Rd near Lake Tutira, forced traffic to take a long detour through narrow gravel roads. A truck and trailer that tried to turn around on the highway became stuck, also blocking both lanes but eventually one lane was cleared for overnight traffic.