NZTA says increasing public access in and out of Kaikoura via the inland road (route 70) is an urgent priority. The Canterbury Civil Defence Emergency Management group is formally transferring control of the road back to the Transport Agency.
Twenty-five work crews are located along the 95km-long inland route, working to repair the road and clear thousands of tonnes of material that came down in more than 50 separate slips during the earthquake.
Controlled access on the route for residents and essential services as far north as Mt Lyford occurred last week.
NZTA regional performance manager Pete Connors says while the inland road between Kaikoura and Mt Lyford is still a very fragile and hazardous route, progress made so far has established controlled access for military vehicles and essential services.
Connors says following the successful convoy of private vehicles out of Kaikoura on November 25, the Transport Agency will be scheduling more regular opportunities for supervised travel in and out of Kaikoura on the route from tomorrow.
“We’ve now established a daily schedule, and we’ve set up a website and phone number where people can register to travel. For safety reasons only people that have registered with the Transport Agency will be able to move during the scheduled times,” he says.
“We know how important this connection is for people in Kaikoura and others who live along the route, and our focus is on making the road safe so we can open it the public with fewer restrictions as soon as possible.”
NZTA is working closely with Hurunui District Council and Kaikoura District Council during the transition to ensure the right balance of access, safety and progressing the road repair.
Connors says contractors are also working hard to re-establish access to and from Kaikoura from the south via State Highway 1, with work crews currently clearing several large slips and rockfalls.
NZTA is aiming to restore controlled, single lane access for residents and essential services on the road by mid-December, dependent on weather and any further earthquakes.
While some work has been carried out on the SH1 north of Kaikoura to restore access to residents and emergency services, Connors says with the risk of on-going significant aftershocks; conditions are still too unstable to safely allow geotechnical engineers onto some of the biggest slips to carry out detailed inspections.
“Given the scale and the complexity of the damage to the SH1 north of Kaikoura, our immediate focus is on securing the inland road as a lifeline for Kaikoura, and restoring access via SH1 from the south as soon as possible,” says Connors.
Details of the daily travel schedule for the inland road (Route 70) and information on how to register are available here: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/traffic-and-travel-information/travel-information-for-canterbury-and-marlborough-regions/
