Coromandel's SH25A not expected to re-open for '9 to 12 months'

Mon, Mar 13

A temporary solution for motorists travelling along Coromandel's SH25A is expected within nine to 12 months, Waka Kotahi says.

The region's main arterial route was decimated by a 100m landslide. There's fears the crumbling network will cut off the peninsula from the country amid further slips, dropouts and debris on other roads.

Jo Wilton, Waka Kotahi's regional manager of infrastructure delivery for Waikato and Bay of Plenty, told Breakfast the slip has since grown to about 160 metres, "so it's bigger than one and a half rugby football fields".

Wilton said the transport agency is considering three options to repair the route, which include a bypass going around the road, or installing a bridge or retaining wall on the site.

"All options are on the table at the moment. It is an enormous job no matter which way you look at it."

She added that future weather events "will have an impact on that site".

"The option you want to come up with, we want to make it enduring so that it will be resilient so it won't slip again with future bad weather."

Wilton said a temporary solution to open up the road is expected within "nine to 12 months at this stage".

"We are very aware of the length of time it's going to take us to fix this."

She said while there "is no denying that there are overslips and underslips elsewhere on the network", she is "not as worried [about their condition] as I am about 25A".

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime problem that I hope never to see on our network again."

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