MANY of the the region's roads were damaged in the weekend's weather, including the Waitomo District Council managed Fullerton Road
THE roadworks are not over yet for a small stretch of state highway south of Ōtorohanga, which was damaged again in the weekend’s storm.
Works to rebuild a 300m section of SH3 south of the Mangapu River bridge – which sparked the ire of motorists stuck in long queues – had concluded on Friday ahead of the long weekend (King Country News, January 26, 2023).
But as wild weather battered the region, potholes began to form on the road and only got worse as the weekend progressed.
Mike Manion, from Waka Kotahi NZTA’s Waikato Maintenance and Operations team, said contractors planned to complete temporary repairs on Tuesday, with permanent repairs not planned until next week.
Several other King Country state highways were affected during the storm.
A slip on Awakino Rd, Te Kūiti has since been cleared and the road fully reopened.
Some tidy up work was expected to be completed this week, Mike said.
Flooding on SH3 north of Te Kūiti causing disruption for travellers, has receded and a slip just south of Hangatiki has been cleared with no other tidying required.
The state highway into Waitomo Village, SH37, is open only to four-wheel drives and heavy vehicles due to flooding.
Light vehicles exiting the village have been detoured through Haurua Rd and Waitomo Valley Rd northbound and Fullerton Rd and Oparure Rd southbound.
An overslip on SH31, Ōtorohanga District was cleared on Tuesday.
Road users were urged to take care on SH30 to Benneydale, which was open but experiencing small slips and surface flooding.
“Fulton Hogan and subcontractors continue to work tirelessly across the network to ensure risks are identified and roads made safe.
Mike asked road users to take extreme caution and be prepared for flooding, slips or debris on the roads if they had to travel.
