NZTA hopeful flood-damaged section of SH1 could reopen next week
Saturday, 11 July 2026
NZTA is optimistic a section of State Highway 1 damaged by flooding could reopen early next week.
A slip on Friday has been cleared between Cheviot in north Canterbury and Kaikōura, however a new one emerged on Saturday.
Icy conditions could also hamper driving over the weekend, with NZTA warning road users to be careful.
The New Zealand Transport Agency says it’s optimistic a section of State Highway 1 damaged by severe flooding this week could reopen in the next few days, if the weather holds.
State Highway 1, between Cheviot in north Canterbury, and Kaikōura, remains closed, and so too does the Inland Kaikōura Road. Detours via State Highways 7, 65, 6 and 63 remain in place, NZTA said on Saturday.
A major slip on SH1 on Friday has now been cleared, NZTA said, while crews have focused on fixing part of the highway “eaten away by high river levels” near Hawkswood.
Tuesday was likely to be the “earliest opportunity” to reopen the closed section of highway, which would be done in a “staged way” to keep road users safe.
However, a new slip just south of Kaikōura was adding ”complexity to efforts” to allow that to happen, the agency said.
Geotechnical engineers are being deployed to assess the risk of further slips at the site, it said.
Road users are also being warned to expect ongoing severe frosts and icy conditions in inland areas of the South Island through to Monday.
“The Mackenzie Basin, where crashes have been reported this morning, is forecast to have temperatures as low as -10 degrees,“ NZTA said.
“Hoar frosts, freezing fog and black ice” were likely to affect State Highways 8 and 80, with people being asked to travel with extra care on these roads.
“We appreciate that it being school holidays and a long holiday weekend, people will be travelling around the South Island to connect with family and friends, or experience some of the snow that’s fallen in the last few days,” NZTA said.
“We do ask that people travelling on the state highways plan ahead by checking for any closures or travel restrictions, such as the current closure south of Kaikoura on SH1.”
NZTA said other significant state highway closures remain in the central and lower South Island due to snow and icy conditions.
They include State Highway 8 from Fairlie to Twizel, Mackenzie Basin, State Highway 87 from Kyeburn to Middlemarch, Otago, and State Highway 85 from Kyeburn to Morrisons, Otago.