State Highway 1 rebuild along Kaikōura coast two-thirds complete

Tuesday, 18 December 2018

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake damaged about 194 kilometres of road.

Work to rebuild SH1 along the Kaikōura coast is two-thirds complete and set to be finished in a year's time.

But for those motorists travelling along the highway between Picton and Christchurch this summer, they have been warned to expect delays and to allow for a drive time of five-and-a-half hours.

A North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery (NCTIR) spokeswoman said all work should be completed at the end of next year, after three years of repairs.

Earthquake recovery works along the road should wrap up about March, while safety improvement works were expected to finish at the end of the next year, she said.

About 1700 people from around the world have worked on the Kaikōura rebuild.

The Paratitahi tunnels, and the scaffolding sheltering the road, bottom left, on State Highway 1, south of Kaikōura.

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The rebuild started its 'safety improvement' phase in July this year, with $200 million set aside to make temporary works more permanent and safer.

A workforce of about 1700 people worked two million hours to move mountains of slip material and repair the quake-damaged route along State Highway 1 after the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake. It reopened on December 15, 2017.

Blenheim resident Gary Jones, who had recently made several return trips to Christchurch, questioned whether it would be finished in a year and said the road works looked 'far from over'.

'There's just so much colossal work to be done,' Jones said. 'There can be anything up to a dozen stops either side of Kaikōura and it just takes forever on top of normal travel.

'They've done perhaps the worst of it, but now they've got to rebuild tunnels, road supports and banks to stop the rubble falling down on the road … and all those sorts of things.'

Ōhau Point's safe stopping area reopened in October almost two years after the Kaikōura earthquake knocked more than 100,000 cubic metres of debris over the hillside.

Jones said he had spoken with a road worker and the man said he had been contracted to work for at least the next 18 months.

The NCTIR spokeswoman said she could not disclose how long worker contracts had been renewed for, as each worker was employed with individual contracts.

Staff would cease work along the road from December 21, at 5pm, to January 7, at 12pm, thanks to a 'Christmas closedown', she said.

'There will be one stop-go area in the Hundalees, south of Kaikōura, during this time.

'However, speed restrictions will still be in place where unfinished work is or where other contractors are working.'

Construction on the coastal route was set to resume on January 7, after the holidays, she said.

NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) network operations manager Tresca Forrester urged motorists to follow on-site signage and drive to the weather conditions.

'There are restrictions in place for the safety of our crews and road users. Please slow down and take it easy through our work sites.'

People could check real-time travel information before leaving at 0800 4 HIGHWAY (080044 44 49) or at the NZTA website.