How the road from Auckland to Piha was repaired after serious damage from Cyclone Gabrielle forced its closure in 2023.
The popular West Auckland Road that was severely damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle and other extreme weather more than two years ago has finally reopened to the public.
Scenic Drive, the road between Titirangi and Piha, took millions of dollars and many workers to fully repair.
An Auckland Transport(AT) spokesperson said the road officially reopened at 12pm today.
“Traffic has been flowing freely across Scenic Drive since. I spoke with some very happy and relieved locals this afternoon,” the spokesperson said.
Two and a half years ago, a wall of water, mud, trees and rocks smashed its way down onto the roadway, demolishing the road and carving a path 60m down the hill.
Parts of Scenic Drive had to be built back up again by several metres after the slips. Photo / Auckland Transport
“We’ve only got about 70 left to fix,” Burt told RNZ.
“Given the scale of the event, the complexity of some of the work, I think the team’s done amazingly - and if you look across the country, Auckland is well ahead of many parts of the country that were impacted by the storms at this time.”
West Auckland was hit particularly hard due to the steep topography of the area.
According to RNZ and Auckland Transport, the section of road between the Titirangi roundabout and Woodlands Park Drive was initially restricted to stop-go traffic before being fully closed.
Retaining walls were constructed to restore parts of the road that had slipped.
Seen from above, one of the slips on Scenic Drive before a repair. Photo / Auckland Transport
AT said the goal now is to have the very last of the Auckland cyclone repairs done by April 2026.
Documents AT provided to RNZ show the Scenic Drive repairs at eight sites have cost $15.8 million.
Some drainage work still remains.
The AT Flood Recovery Programme is estimated to cost $390 million, jointly funded by the Crown and Auckland Council: NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi ($199m), Auckland Council ($81m) and Crown Infrastructure Partners, now National Infrastructure Funding and Financing ($110m), RNZ reported.
Giant metal piles - some up to 20m long - are inserted into the ground to stabilise a slip on Scenic Drive. Photo / Auckland Transport
In 2023, owners of a badly slip-damaged property on Scenic Drive watched as their family home was violently pulled to the ground by a digger.
Tonnes of earth and foliage had pushed the house off its foundations, and it had been at risk of collapse for months before it was destroyed in a dramatic controlled demolition.
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