South Island tourist routes to reopen

Two major South Island tourist routes shut off in this week's stormy weather are reopening.

State Highway 6, between Haast and Makarora on the West Coast, is expected to reopen tomorrow afternoon, the Transport Agency said.

Crews were currently cleaning up the road, which had initially been closed due to a large slip earlier this week. Snow and heavy rain on Friday night caused further delays to its opening.

Transport Agency West Coast area manager Mark Pinner said the slip face had remained fairly stable overnight.

Helicopters were being used to push larger rocks to a point of safety, he said.

"Provided there aren't any further weather interruptions or unexpected ground stability issues at the site, we are targeting having one lane of the road operating by early tomorrow afternoon."

Once the road is re-opened, there are likely to be restrictions during the day as well as closures during the night, he cautioned.

More bad weather could also see the road being shut off again.

Further south, travellers were once again enjoying the use of the Milford Sound road.

State Highway 94 from the Hollyford turn-off was reopened this morning. It had been closed due to slips and avalanches.

Motorists are being advised to take extreme care due to pavement damage and narrow sections of the road, the Transport Agency said.

It would also be closed between 5.30pm and 7.30am tomorrow.