Road to Hutt Valley’s Wainuiomata cleared after slip, residents near Terrace slip able to return home

• A slip on the Lower Hutt side of the Wainuiomata Hill caused rocks to fall across two lanes. It has now been cleared.
• The Seatoun Tunnel will remain closed overnight until contractors clear away a tree that could fall on the road.
• The Ghuznee St end of The Terrace remains closed but some evacuated residents can return home. Two properties above the slip remain off limits.
• Several coastal communities in South Wairarapa have been cut off by flooding

Slips are continuing to happen around the Wellington region after a period of heavy rain.

The Hutt City Council posted online on Tuesday night saying a slip on Wainuiomata Rd on the Lower Hutt side of the Wainuiomata Hill caused some rocks to fall across two lanes.

At 10:10pm on Tuesday night the council confirmed the road had been cleared.

In other weather-related news Wellington’s Seatoun Tunnel will remain closed overnight Tuesday, due to the risk of a tree falling on to the road.

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Contractors were expected to begin work on Wednesday to sort out the overhanging tree, police said in a statement.

Police are asking motorists to continue using alternative routes until further notice.

Meanwhile the Wellington City Council has told residents of several households in Wellington Central that they will be able to return to their properties on Tuesday after they had to be evacuated because of a large slip on The Terrace.

But two properties above the slip have been deemed temporarily uninhabitable by the council, due to one of them having its sewer connection broken, and the other having compromised foundations.

Both houses cannot be occupied again until the sewer was reinstated in the first house, and the structural stability of the second house confirmed, according to Wellington City Council spokesperson Richard MacLean.

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The section of road between Buller and Ghuznee Sts remained closed on Tuesday and would likely remain closed for several days, MacLean said.

Loose material around the large slip would start to be removed from Wednesday, MacLean said on Tuesday afternoon.

Several households on the road below the slip were evacuated because of concerns at least one large tree would fall from the slope affected, but on Tuesday afternoon geotechnical engineers and council staff said they no longer had concerns that trees were in danger of falling.

Engineers had completed an initial assessment of the slip and provided preliminary advice, and would reassess the stability of the location once the bulk of debris was removed, MacLean said.

At least 16 weather-related incidents had been logged by the council between 9am and 3pm on Tuesday.

A night of torrential rain, following a Monday of bad weather, meant Wellington residents woke to a flurry of slips, downed trees, and some isolated surface flooding on Tuesday.

The Wellington City Council signed off on a retaining wall four years before the land on The Terrace collapsed about 3.30pm on Monday and sent 50 cubic metres of earth and broken concrete onto the busy central city road below.

The slip severed two gas pipes and sent large chunks of broken concrete, earth and foliage crashing onto the street. This amount of earth would fill almost five concrete mixers.

MacLean said the main collapsed wall – another further up the property also collapsed – was inspected in 2018 and deemed to be in an average condition but still capable of doing its job. The wall dated from the early 1900s, he said.

Another casualty of the weather was the recognisable Sealion boat, which sank at its moorings in Wellington Harbour on Monday night.

One lane of the only road in and out of the Lower Hutt settlement of Horokiwi had also been blocked by a slip.

Earlier on Tuesday morning, both southbound lanes from Stokes Valley along Eastern Hutt Rd were closed due to the ongoing risk from the large slip which undermined properties on Holborn Drive on July 22. One northbound lane had been converted to southbound travel.

Buses would continue to replace trains on the Johnsonville line, following a slip on Monday.

WAIRARAPA FLOODING

Meanwhile, several coastal communities in South Wairarapa have been cut off by road closures. There has been flooding at Hinekura​ and the community is isolated until the flooding recedes. All roads to the Tora Coast are also closed.

A South Wairarapa District Council spokesperson said its staff could not get to Flatpoint, Glenburn, Pahaoa, Tora Te Awaiti and White Rock.

The Waihenga Bridge on SH53 between Featherston and Martinborough was closed about midday on Tuesday due to rising water levels in the Ruamahanga River.

Motorists can take a detour SH2 route down Featherston Creek Rd, along Western Lake Rd, East West Access Rd, Kahutara Rd, and Lake Ferry Rd.

Showers were expected to continue throughout Tuesday afternoon with southeasterlies gusting up to 90kph in exposed places.