State Highway 1 north of Kaikōura opens after 13-month rebuild
Friday, 15 December 2017
State Highway 1 has opened, with traffic again flowing – albeit with a few slow-down points – north from Kaikōura.
The section north of the coastal town had been closed for 13 months due to damage from the magnitude-7.8 earthquake in November 2016. The crucial highway reconnects the major road route between Picton and Christchurch.
Hundreds of vehicles backed up over 2.5 kilometres at Hapuku Beach, north of Kaikōura, ahead of the reopening on Friday afternoon. Another 200 vehicles waited at the other end in Clarence, stretching 3km along the road.
By 5pm, more than 1000 vehicles had gone through the rebuilt section. NZ Transport Agency journey manager Tresca Forrester said there was likely to be a lot more traffic on the road over the weekend.
**READ MORE:
* Kaikōura locals 'frothing' for State Highway 1 to reopen
* SH1 north of Kaikōura will close overnight, have unsealed sections and lane closures when it reopens
* State Highway 1: One week to go - 'we'll get there'**
Drivers waiting at Kaikōura were the first to try the rebuilt highway. They were allowed onto the route about 1.20pm.
Those waiting at Clarence hit the road slightly later to avoid both groups meeting at a one-lane section of the highway.
Among those at the Kaikōura end were motorcyclists Timothy Johnston and Matthew Cockroft, who hoped to be the first on the new road. The pair were heading back to the North Island after a six-day South Island road trip.
Johnston said they planned to do the trip last year, 'but the earthquake intervened'. He said the unsealed sections of road would be 'exciting' on the motorbikes.
At the Clarence end of the cordon, resident Linda Kitchingham was second in line behind Christchurch motorcyclist Nigel Dixon. She was on her way to Kaikōura to have a coffee with her sister for the first time in 13 months.
'It's the beginning of freedom again,' she said.
'Life has been absolute hell for me here. I've been living at the end of a 90km cul-de-sac.'
Workers were completing sealing work just hours before the reopening in the rush to get the route ready for traffic.
The road rebuild work was not yet complete, but workers had got it to the stage where it was safe for the public to drive on.
It is open from 7am to 8.30pm and contains unsealed sections, single lane sections and stop-go traffic control points. A trip from Christchurch to Picton is expected to take about five-and-a-half hours.
The cruise ship Seabourn Encore stopped in at Kaikōura for the day on Friday morning. The large ship can hold over 600 passengers.
DAWN CEREMONY
Earlier, a small coastal community 22 kilometres north of Kaikōura hosted a dawn ceremony to celebrate the reopening of State Highway 1.
The ceremony was held in Rākautara, which was stranded between two giant slips after the tremor. Vehicle access to residents' homes was restored in March.
It began on Friday with a welcome and blessing led by Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura kaumātua Brett Cowan, before four trees were planted facing in each compass direction to acknowledge ngā hau e whā, or the four winds.
Speeches from Minister of Transport Phil Twyford and Kaikōura Mayor Winston Gray followed, before a ceremonial ribbon cutting took place on the road. Guests then enjoyed crayfish sliders from local food stop Nins Bin.
Cowan said the ceremony was a celebration of being connected with the north-south corridor.
'We've had history here for 1000 years and so we rely on the connection of communities and we wanted to signify the road opening today by planting some trees.'
Ngaio were planted to the north and south, to acknowledge traffic coming from those directions and to wish farewell and safe journeys to people leaving town in either direction.
Harakeke were planted to the east and west to acknowledge and connect the ocean to the land.
Cowan said Rākautara was a good site for the ceremony because it was 'an area that has marked our boundary between all of these different groups that have come through Kaikōura in the last 400 years or so'.
It was extremely satisfying to see the road reopening, he said.
'We feel satisfied that whenever people talk about the recovery work, it's a success story.'
For Rākautara earthquake survivor Tahua Solomon, it was 'another surreal day really, to a surreal year'.
'To have all these people come here and to honour the work that's been put in by all these hardworking people, it means a lot to us, that's for sure.'
Surviving the quake and being surrounded by good people was like winning Lotto, he said.
Solomon has lived in Rākautara since 1990. It was in its own bubble and the people living there had a different attitude to life, even before the quakes, he said.
'We all love each other. We have our moments, we manage to get through and still be really helpful and loving towards each other.'
He said he would tend to the newly-planted trees, which would be much loved.
'I imagine we'll keep them trimmed up and nice and tidy, and it'll be shelter for people, kids to play around them.'
ISOLATION'S END
After the dawn ceremony, some people gathered at the West End car park in Kaikōura to celebrate reopening.
Kaikoura Boutique Hotel owner Jen Barnes said it was a big day for Kaikōura.
'It's the end of isolation – it's good.'
Locals were already taking advantage of the hotel's new champagne bar.
'I am pleased we have heaps of local people at the hotel with this bubble of excitement.'
North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery alliance project manager Clark Butcher joined the community celebration, removing his fluoro protective gear for once. He had also promised to shave off the beard he had been growing since starting the job.
While the community was celebrating, workers were out since the early morning tidying up and marking white lines on the road.
'I'm so excited to see this celebration,' Butcher said.
'The community actually looking free. It's freeing some shackles. They are free to come and go in whatever direction they like. It's pretty special. It's been a huge challenge, but man it has been a good challenge.
'It would be the most challenging project I have ever done. We have all grown massively in doing it. I look at the guys around me and they've been working day and night through zero degrees [Celsius] and through summer, in more than 30C; they are so courageous.'
Kaikōura District Council chief executive Angela Oosthuizen said there was a sense of relief around town.
'It is also emotional for people because that sense of isolation has ended. Quite a big obstacle has been removed so it is important for the recovery. It is a sense of getting back to normality.'