State Highway 59 between Pukerua Bay and Paekakariki will reopen on Thursday after a series of slips closed it for more than three weeks. Photo: RNZ / Krystal Gibbens
One of the main routes out of Wellington - State Highway 59 - is set to reopen this Thursday after being closed for weeks.
The road between Pukerua Bay and Paekakariki had been closed due to slips which came down in bad weather.
About 60 staff from 20 different sub-contractors have been working at the site in the three weeks it has been closed. Work had continued for 24 hours a day in recent days, in preparation for its reopening.
Around 25,000 cubic metres of material was removed, some by helicopters.
The agency estimates the cost of the project to be about $3 million to $4m.
Waka Kotahi regional manager Mark Owen said the reason the slips had taken weeks to clear was because of the "size and scope" of the work involved.
Geo-techs identified a significant crack near the top and deemed it too unsafe to reopen the road.
Crews have also used the time the road has been closed to do other required maintenance, Owen said.
Waka Kotahi has been working to clear State Highway 59 and strengthen the hillside after a slip blocked the road. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Residents said the road closure had caused some disruption.
Emily Pym said while she was often home with her baby, the closure had impacted how they shopped.
She said they normally did their shopping in Paraparaumu, "so we haven't been able to do that for the last little while".
Instead, they had been getting home deliveries, which Pym said hadn't been too bad.
Pukerua Bay Store owner Rishi Patel said locals using the gully meant they were bypassing stores like his.
The road closure had forced locals "to get used to the gully," he said.
Weather permitting, the road will reopen this Thursday at 5.30am. But once the road reopens, a temporary speed limit will be put in place.
Owen said this was because there were "two other vulnerable areas" on the other side of the road.
Work was still required for a permanent geotechnical safe solution for those, he said.
