Kawakawa Road reopens after a month

The frustration of having to make a 100km detour when a landslide cut off the main road connecting them to central Auckland will soon be over for long-suffering residents of Kawakawa Bay.

One lane of the Kawakawa-Clevedon Highway reopens on Friday, a month after its closure left residents either having to make the detour or catch a ferry to Auckland.

Manukau City Council said most of the debris blocking the road had been removed and the road was being hosed down and assessed before minor repairs were made.

The single lane would be controlled traffic lights when it reopened. A council spokesman could not say when the second lane would be opened.

The road closure has caused a major disruption to the lives of Kawakawa Bay residents and businesses.

The small seaside village has only three or four businesses, which relied on passing traffic.

Some locals who drove to work outside Kawakawa Bay were being taken over a hill by the slip in a four-wheel-drive vehicle to cars waiting on the other side.

The novelty of that wore off a day or two after the slip, said Beachcomber Motel owner Tony Blundell who had his first customer in a month last night - a driver who had got lost.

He said Kawakawa Bay locals were unhappy and frustrated it was taking so long to reopen the road.

Kawakawa Bay Motors said petrol sales had dropped by more than 50 per cent in the last month and other retail sails had fallen dramatically.

- NZPA