Source: Radio New Zealand
Damage to State Highway 35 from a landslide. Supplied / NZTA
The Transport Agency (NZTA) says State Highway 35 between Te Araroa and Tikitiki will reopen from 4pm today.
The road was badly damaged by heavy rain last week.
Crews working in the area have mostly cleared large overslips off the road, while other crews continue repairing the road.
Convoys, which have been operating throughout the week, will continue between 8 and 8.30am and again between 11.30am and 1pm, before that stretch of road fully reopens from 4pm.
“That means two lanes of traffic will be open, however, as crews continue the huge cleanup, there will be some sections of this stretch of road still down to one lane, which means people need to drive with extreme care,” NZTA said.
A temporary lower speed will also be in place.
Slip clearing on the East Coast’s SH35, between Tikitiki and Te Araroa, 25 January 2026. Supplied/ NZTA
Some parts will be under traffic management, and the roading agency urges sightseers to stay home and people to be courteous to road workers.
It says the area is still very fragile, and short-notice closures may be required to ensure safety.
Te Araroa to Pōtaka will remain closed. The largest slip within the Pōtaka to Te Araroa stretch, the Punaruku Slip, has been a focus of a safety assessment on Thursday and work will begin on developing a track over it in the coming days, NZTA said.
Meanwhile, NZTA crews are working to reopen State Highway 2, which was the main route between Ōpōtiki and Gisborne.
NZ Transport Agency regional transport services manager Mark Owen said crews were working overtime to reopen the section of SH2, but it was a huge job.
“Unfortunately, there’s been massive damage in there, so again crews are working away, beavering away at each end – they’re doing a full assessment.”
He was hopeful they could provide a timeframe for opening later this week.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
