Coromandel slips: State Highway 25 still closed between Ruamahunga and Waiomu

Slips on SH25 in Coromandel. Photo / Waka Kotahi

State Highway 25 in the Coromandel will remain closed between Ruamahunga and Waiomu overnight as work to clear slips continues.

Five motorists, including a couple in a campervan, became trapped between two large slips on the Thames coast on Saturday, RNZ reported yesterday. No injuries were reported.

The motorists were travelling between Tapu and Waiomu. The largest slip was south of Tapu near Ruamahunga and the other was near Waiomu.

The road reopened to one lane on Sunday night, however, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said this morning the road had closed again following “further slip activity overnight”.

In a statement this afternoon it said contractors had made good progress clearing a slip at Ruamahunga but geotech engineers had said it was not yet safe to open the highway as the rock face was still unstable.

“There is still a lot of material to remove, with the potential for more to come down,” the statement said.

It said about 360 cubic metres of rock and debris fell before dawn this morning at the same spot as one of two slips that closed the highway on Sunday.

The detour is via Whangamata and Whitianga to the northern end of the peninsula, which Waka Kotahi acknowledged was “significant”.

Waka Kotahi also earlier reported fallen trees between Paeroa and Waihi.

“Drive with caution through the Karangahake Gorge on SH2. There is a speed restriction of 50km/h in this area after an earlier slip on SH2 near Moresby St.”

It comes as the Bay of Plenty Times this morning reported more than 211,000 potholes have been reported on New Zealand state highways over the past five years, with a quarter of them being in 2022.

The overwhelming majority were in Waikato, ahead of Canterbury, Northland, Taranaki, Gisborne and Bay of Plenty.