Tasman Alliance/Supplied
Work clearing the Pangatōtara slip on the Motueka Valley Highway is due to start on Wednesday and take five working days to complete, weather permitting.
Work is due to get under way on Wednesday to clear the Pangatōtara slip on the Motueka Valley Highway in the Tasman district.
In a statement, the Tasman District Council said the work by Tasman Alliance was expected to take five working days, weather permitting. Tasman Alliance is a service partnership between the council and Downer NZ Ltd.
Alliance manager Drew Hayes on Tuesday said the southern portion of the slip initially came down during the weather event of July 2021. The road was reopened to one lane initially and then two lanes.
During the severe weather in August this year, the northern portion of the slip came down, blocking both lanes. A temporary lane was installed in the road reserve around the toe of the slip, Hayes said.
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* Slip-affected coastal road at Ruby Bay to be cleared and reopened
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* Repair, maintenance work to start on two roads in Tasman district
Martin De Ruyter/Stuff
The Pangatōtara slip on August 18. Much more material subsequently came down onto Motueka Valley Highway, blocking the entire road for a while. A temporary lane was installed in the road reserve.
Council transportation manager Jamie McPherson last week said traffic had been diverted around the slip over the past few months while it had been “very, very active and very wet”.
“We’ve been waiting for it to dry out,” McPherson told councillors. “It’s now ready to be cleared.”
Once the work was complete, the machinery used at the Pangatōtara slip site would be moved to Ruby Bay for the planned clearance and reopening of Stafford Drive, McPherson said.
Tasman Alliance/Supplied
The council has been waiting for the hillside to dry out so the machinery can climb to the top and start removing material from the site.
Due to the nature of the work and the machinery operating above the road at Pangatōtara, it was too dangerous to keep the single lane open so traffic would have to take detours around the Motueka Valley Highway site.
Northbound vehicles, heading towards Motueka, would be directed via Waiwhero Rd and Edwards Rd to Main Rd Lower Moutere.
The detour for southbound traffic, heading towards Tapawera, would be via Motueka Valley West Bank Rd from Alexander Bluff Bridge, with the exit at Woodstock Rd.
LUZ ZUNIGA/STUFF
The swollen Motueka River rose to heights in July 2021 that local residents had not seen in years. Video first published in July 2021.
However, the detour roads were not suitable for heavy vehicles with drivers urged to use State Highway 6 and State Highway 60.
“Please follow signs and instructions from our staff to allow us to clear the material as fast as we can,” the council said in the statement.
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