State Highway 35 east of Ōpōtiki reopens after slip

State Highway 35 east of Ōpōtiki has reopened following a landslip.

Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency said the highway at Maraenui, between Beach Rd and the Motu River Bridge, was closed at 2.40pm on Sunday as fallen trees and other debris was blocking the road.

The road has now reopened in both directions via one lane, the agency said on Monday afternoon.

Waka Kotahi Bay of Plenty transport systems manager Roger Brady said contractors worked urgently to clear enough material, including large fallen trees, to allow the road to safely re-open to a single lane.

SH35 ŌPŌTIKI TO TE ARAROA - SLIP & FALLEN TREES - UPDATE 3:25 PM, MON 21 AUG
SH35 is open again in both directions via one lane (follow the posted give-way system), after a slip occurred between Beach Rd and Motu River Bridge. Highway Conditions Map: https://t.co/IUmh2FpUvj ^MS https://t.co/885WjkuukP

— Waka Kotahi NZTA Waikato/BoP (@WakaKotahiWaiBP) August 21, 2023

“Our contractors have done a great job to get a lane open so quickly. There is still a lot of work to do, and we’re asking people to drive safely through the site and comply with the temporary speed restrictions which are in place to keep drivers and workers safe.”

Brady said geotechnical engineers would continue to monitor the site closely to manage any risks of further debris coming down on to the road.

This means the road may need to close again if weather or visibility deteriorates, Brady said.

“We know how important this connection is for residents and businesses in the area, and we’re doing everything possible to stabilise the site and keep the road open, but the safety of road users and roadworkers is our top priority and we won’t hesitate to close the road again if needed.”

Footage posted on social media showed a thunderous surge of downed trees and mud cascading across the highway.

While watching the stream of debris flowing across the road, one of the people in the vehicle says, “We aren’t going anywhere. That was seconds away from us being in there”.

The vehicle then reverses away from the potential danger of other slips on the road.

About 6pm, the agency advised SH35 had closed between Beach Rd in Ōpōtiki and the Motu River Bridge in Maraenui.

Ruatōria resident and land use researcher Manu Caddie said he just missed the large landslip by a few minutes.

SH35 is closed following a slip and fallen trees. Photo / Dony Raimona

He said he knew there was a heavy rain warning but had not seen any advice to stay off the roads. He drove from Ruatōria to Tauranga and said there was flooding on the road, with rocks, mud and water coming down off the hills in different areas along the way.

He said in hindsight, it was a “bad idea” to make the trip.

He said he was in Tauranga for the next few days and did not need to get home straight away.

”If that vehicle that filmed the footage had been just a few seconds ahead, they would have been taken out,” he said of the landslip.

He said the slip was “scary for everybody” who travelled on those roads. A few months ago, Caddie said he saw pine harvest slash and logs left on the “steep” slopes at a number of sites around the area where the slip occurred.

”I guess we’re going to see more of [landslides] as more of those plantations are harvested.”

He said he believed the logs came down in force because the ground was not stable and the rain was heavy.

Caddie said it was “happening all the time” on the East Coast, with this debris coming out of rivers, but not always across main roads.

In his view: ”It’s going to be important to do a good risk assessment around the region, particularly where there’s harvest sites close to public roads. It’s the ecological damage as much as the risk to humans, it’s pretty significant. We need to stop growing pine trees on erosion-prone land, which is a large proportion of the East Cape.”

He said he believed permanent indigenous forests needed to go back on the land, instead of “shallow-rooting pine trees”.