Cliff 'likely' to collapse on Thames coast road in wake of Cyclone Hale

Thursday, 12 January 2023

A cliff is likely to collapse on the coast road north of Thames in the wake of Cyclone Hale, authorities say.

The road between Thames and Coromandel has been closed just north of the township at Windy Point, police said in a statement on Thursday.

“Due to current weather conditions a cliff has become unstable and is likely to collapse.”

A lengthy detour around the eastern side of the peninsula is available via State Highway 25 between Kopu and Hikuai.

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However, after a slip on that stretch of road on Thursday morning, the route has been reduced to a single lane operating via a stop-go.

Waka Kotahi have said geotechnical engineers are on their way to the cliff to investigate the risk.

Meanwhile, two slips remain on State Highway 25 in the Coromandel and Waka Kotahi say they are working to have them cleared.

The larger of the two slips is located at Ruamahunga on the Firth of Thames side of the peninsula.

Waka Kotahi have said contractors there have employed three diggers to clear the slip.

The slip will render the road closed for the rest of Thursday, Waka Kotahi said.

The recent slip between Kopu and Hikuai is expected to be cleared early this afternoon.

A spokesperson for the transport agency said: “The ground is still really sodden and further slips could happen at any time. The hills are really wet.”

Should the cliff at Windy Point be deemed safe by engineers on Thursday afternoon, it could reopen as far as the Ruamahunga slip, says Waka Kotahi.