Easter Gorge opening is confirmed

The pile wall supporting SH1 in the Mangamuka Gorge is almost finished, and work is under way to build a retaining wall above the road to restore it to two lanes. Photo / NZTA

Waka Kotahi NZTA last week confirmed its promise to open State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge for Easter.

The road will be open to light vehicles from 8am to 7pm on Friday to Monday. Heavy vehicles will have to keep using the SH10 or Broadwood Rd detours.

"Vehicles will travel (through the Gorge) in one-way convoys approximately every 15 minutes, escorted by lead and tail vehicles to ensure everyone sticks together and gets through before the next convoy sets off," Waka Kotahi Northland system manager Jacqui Hori-Hoult said.

"Convoys will run continuously through the day, without waiting for a set number of vehicles before setting off. It will be a bit like a stop/go traffic operation, except that each line of vehicles will be escorted.

"Motorists will have to approach the convoys with some flexibility, as they won't run to a strict timetable. It will depend on how many vehicles turn up on the day. People might miss getting on the end of a convoy and have to wait up to 20 minutes for the next one."

The road is still reduced to one lane past two slip work sites on the northern side of the summit. It was closed after a storm in July, but was opened to light traffic for three weeks over Christmas.

"Waka Kotahi wants to open the gorge over the Easter holiday weekend because of the benefits visitors will bring to the local economy, but also for the local community, providing a break from the extra time and cost of having to use the SH10 detour route, which adds 20-30 minutes to the journey," Hori-Hoult said.

"If the Easter convoys work well, and there's a demand, we'll look to open the road to convoys on most weekends after Easter. There will be some weekends where the repair work is at a stage where it won't be possible for safety reasons to allow the public through the work area. We'll give 24 hours notice of those weekend closures."

Meanwhile work to restore the road to two lanes by the middle of the year, at a total estimated cost of $13.8 million, was going to plan.