Significant Slip Damage Could See State Highway 2, at Waioeka Gorge, Closed for Several Weeks

Heavy rain caused up to 40 slips along the road between Matawai and Opotiki, forcing it to close.

Waka Kotahi says that geotechnical investigations and drone surveys indicate the situation is more complex than initially anticipated.

NZTA Waikato and Bay of Plenty manager for maintenance and operations, Roger Brady, said it is not something that can be fixed in days, and reopening the road safely will likely take a few weeks.  

“Our crews are doing everything they safely can, but the sheer number of slips and continuing amount of debris falling mean this is a complex and challenging situation,” he adds.  

“Initial estimates indicate up to 40 slips in total, including 4 to 8 larger slips. Given the scale of damage and uncertainty about the condition of the road underneath the debris, we expect the closure to extend well beyond a short-term response.”

Brady says two significant slip sites at either end of the gorge have been declared safe to begin work.  

“Crews will proceed with caution to begin to remove slip material this afternoon.”

NZTA SH2 Waioeka Gorge response and recovery controller, Rob Service, says they don’t know if there is still road underneath the slip debris.  

He says, “There are some smaller slips that we can clean up easily."

However, a number of the small slips are located between the larger ones.

“We have to take our time doing it. And once we scrape away those layers, we’ll understand if there's a road in place, or if we, in some cases, may have to build a new pavement, then we’ll do that."

He understands the road is a lifeline and a critical link.  

Service says ideally, at least one lane will be intact, and the road can open.  

“We might have some temporary traffic management in place, but at least getting one lane through would be a big step forward.”

He says they won't know the extent of repairs required until they dig out the big over slips and find what’s underneath the mud.  

More than 40 people have been evacuated from the area. (IMAGE SUPPLIED: NZTA)

East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick says the road closure is hard for residents who not only live in the gorge, but also on either side of the affected area.  

“It is challenging, particularly for those people who require travel backwards and forwards through the gorge for work because that's just a non-go and it's very tricky to try and go all the way around the East Cape, around State Highway 35 to do that loop all around via Taupō and Napier,” she says.

“At the moment we're working with the Ōpōtiki District Council who are standing up a civil defence welfare team with some connections into that area to make sure that those residents, have some contacts, that they can ring people if they need things and that there is some kind of plan, depending on how long this goes on for, to get resources and supplies into them as required.”

“I think people are just going to have to be patient. There's no easy fix to this. You can't make it go faster,” she adds.

“NZTA is very conscious that it's an integral route that links two important regions and that it is, you know, it's important for us to get it open as soon as possible.”  

She says you can’t prevent the weather, especially when this part of the country is prone to Easterly storms.  

“It's challenging. I would say the gorge has fared very well. It wasn't deeply affected during Cyclone Gabrielle. So, it's been actually quite a good piece of road,” says Kirkpatrick  

“We have to be as resilient as we can. But, you know, it's a clean-up job for now.”

She would like to thank all the people who worked over the weekend to ensure everyone’s safety.  

“It just goes to show, as a community, we know how to operate in these kinds of conditions. But we just have to be ready, and we always have to be vigilant about people's safety and looking after each other.”

Over the weekend, more than 40 people were evacuated from the area.  

Bay of Plenty District Deployment Coordinator Senior Sergeant Bill Fisher confirmed on Saturday evening that all those stuck in the gorge were airlifted out.  

“The rescued people were initially airlifted to a local campsite, then taken by a Royal New Zealand Air Force NH90 helicopter to evacuation centers in Matawai and Ōpōtiki,” he says.

Police are continuing to monitor the area and ask the public to contact 105 if they know of any travellers who may still be trapped on State Highway 2.

NZTA and police advise the public to monitor the NZTA journey planner for updates and to delay travel where possible or allow extra time for a detour via State Highway 35 or State Highway 5.