Source: Radio New Zealand
The slip closing Awakino Gorge. Supplied / NZ Transport Agency
The small Waikato town of Mōkau on the west coast of the North Island is being described by locals as a “ghost town” and “dead as a doornail” due to the closure of the Awakino Gorge on State Highway 3.
Local butcher Bryan Lester told Morning Report he only served three customers on Wednesday between 7am and 3.30pm.
Fellow local and owner of Nic’s Latte and Grill, Nic Phillips, echoed Lester’s sentiments.
“There’s nobody on the road”, Phillips told Morning Report, “it’s a terrible situation that we’re in.”
With no traffic and no customers, Phillips decided to close her caravan on Thursday.
“Unfortunately for us, the Awakino Gorge is the choke point for this. You know, when those rocks come down, that’s it, we’re done, and there’s no way north for any traffic, you know.
“We are fighting Mother Nature. So what do you do, you know?
“We have these statistics there from the New Plymouth District Council that show that we have anywhere between 2000 to 2300 vehicles per hour, per day, you know, and it just stops.”
Phillips said people from all over the world stop in at the small town, and described it as the “gateway to the King Country, we’re the gateway to Taranaki, and we’re the only place when you come out of the Gorge that you get to see our Maunga [Taranaki Maunga] and the ocean.”
There are seven businesses in the town, and Phillips said they all struggle when the Gorge is closed, and the impacts spread deeper into the community, impacting everyone in the town.
Phillips said going back to July 2025, there have been 11 road closures, which was frustrating for the businesses, but also for people using the highway.
“Do we try and do a bypass? Do we spend billions of dollars on doing something like that? I don’t know the answer.
“But, you know, putting a band-aid on the gorge for decades, like they’ve been doing, isn’t working, and now look what’s happened, it’s massive.”
Gorge to open next week
In a statement, NZTA said State Highway 3 through Awakino Gorge will reopen late next week.
“Further assessments are underway following heavy rainfall over the weekend, which caused slips along this stretch of highway in north Taranaki.
“The road between Mōkau and Piopio has been closed since the weekend.
“Crews have been working to safely clear material from the road – the significant slip has seen roughly 12-16 thousand cubic metres of material come down the hill – the equivalent of almost 1400 standard rubbish trucks.
“Complicating the recovery is the fact the hillside is incredibly sodden and it’s still moving,” said Regional Manager of Maintenance and Operations Rua Earle.
“This is an incredibly challenging time for communities who are restricted by the closure and today’s news will be frustrating. We wish we had better news, the safety of the workers is paramount as well as ensuring the road is opened as quickly as possible,” said Earle.
NZTA said while this section of SH3 is closed, State Highway 4 can be used as an alternative route.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
