Winching and sluicing occurring simultaneously.
Good view of slip material on road with stream adjacent.
The latest news from The NZ Transit Agency on the State Highway 2 Waioeka Gorge Slip update is that the road may open within a week with the construction of a temporary diversion route.
With the main route from the North blocked off for 3-weeks, we've been pleasantly surprised at the amount of our guests that have made the extra effort to travel to Gisborne. Those travelling from the North are arriving via SH35 through the East Cape and SH5 through Taupo.
Here's hoping that the Waioeka Gorge will be passable soon!
"State Highway 2 (SH2) through the Waioeka Gorge remains closed following large slips that occurred on Friday 2 March and Saturday 3 March. Approximately 80,000 cubic metres of slip material came down on Saturday 3 March at about 5.00pm.Source: NZTA
The slip face continues to be unstable, however some machines and workers are working around the slope edges removing material and constructing the temporary diversion route which we hope open soon.
Operation update
Large quantities of slip material continues to come down from Zone 2, where the rocky outcrop is located, approximately 60% of slip material in zone 2 has been removed as a result of the monsoon sluicing activity, a sign that this activity is really paying off. Construction on the temporary diversion route is progressing to ensure this road is open soon.
Concrete mass blocks will be placed along the edge of the Opato Stream to prevent the water from scouring the edges of the temporary road in the next couple of days.
The salvage trucks are back today to remove 4 tree stumps which have now been exposed from the helicopter sluicing activity in the middle outcrop area. Removal of these tree stumps is important for maintaining the effectiveness of the sluicing operation.
Monitoring prisms have now been inserted to measure any slip movement around the rocky outcrop and will be reviewed regularly to ensure confidence that no larger slips are likely before the temporary road is opened.
Temporary diversion route
Construction activity will continue throughout the weekend to ensure we have the temporary diversion road open soon.
We will have a clearer idea early next week of the expected open day, which could be in a week's time. Geologists will continue to monitor the slope and point out areas of the slip face that need to be contoured either through minor blasting around the rocky outcrop or through manual scouring to help stabilise the slip area before the temporary road is opened."
