Roading authorities are aiming to have limited access for some vehicles through Haast Pass from tomorrow.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said this afternoon the plan was to reopen a single lane of traffic on State Highway 6 for light vehicles to be escorted through at set times from tomorrow morning.
NZTA Southland and Otago system manager Robert Choveaux earlier said the link between the West Coast and Otago-Queenstown remained closed due to the massive amount of slip material around the Muddy Creek bridge area, caused by last week's heavy rain.
"The SH6 route has been closed since Thursday morning’s torrential rain, when an overflow of spill north of Makarora flooded the highway for up to a kilometre at Muddy Creek."
“Conditions at the site remain dynamic, challenging and subject to change - any amount of rainfall could affect access. There is still a significant amount of material to be removed, but based on current progress we are optimistic that controlled access will be safe from tomorrow morning.”
Weather permitting and subject to confirmation, two escorted convoys for light vehicles only will be run tomorrow – at noon and 4.30pm. The convoys will be escorted one way at a time with front and rear pilot vehicles starting with the Lake Hawea side – once the convoy reaches the end of the site, the pilots will escort vehicles from the West Coast side through.
Waka Kotahi is asking that anyone who needs to cross be at the road closure points before these opening times.
Mr Choveaux stressed that the planned escorted convoys were dependent on weather and conditions on the ground.
Travel for the remainder of this week will also be under escorted travel as per the conditions outlined above, with the following set times: 8am, noon, 4.30pm.
“Conditions can change quickly, and a full closure could occur without warning, so we urge people to limit trips to essential travel only, and to be prepared as we cannot guarantee a return trip on the same day. We’re asking everyone to check the latest conditions on our on-line to journey planner and watch out for our social media posts for more updates.”
Mr Choveaux said crews would continue working throughout the week to clear material and stabilise the road.
“We understand how vital this highway link is for everyone in the region. Our crews are continuing to work extremely hard in a restricted, narrow strip of road to restore two-lane access as quickly as possible.”
