The big news overall this week has been the closures of the highways because of weather related events. A closure of SH1 south of Kaikoura late last month was necessary in order to remedy new slips that had come down at a number of sites between Goose Bay and Puketa, as I have mentioned before. Just as the highway has reopened again the tail end of the Cyclone Debbie storm has caused more damage and forced it closed as there have been big mud slides at some locations. SH70 inland from Waiau to Kaikoura has also been hit by the weather and is open with restrictions at the present time.
Now for the key repair works and sites for this week.
This is the first big slip north of Kaikoura, just past 205 km on the MNL, and known to NZTA as "Site 1A". You can see here where a temporary road was put around the slip by crossing over the railway line. What's going to be happening here from this week is a new alignment of the road and railway line past this slip.
This is Half Moon Bay at MNL 211 km, just north of KRN Tunnel 18. This was originally one of the smaller slip areas with an estimated removal volume of 5000 cubic metres. However, due to the recent weather conditions, 10,000 cubic metres of material is currently being removed from the slip faces and this work will continue for the next few weeks.
Site 3 removal works last week (NZTA photo)
Work continues at the massive slip at Site 6 - Ohau Point. This photo is from a Beehive press release of about two weeks ago. (The railway is in tunnel at this location)
Site 7 is just north of Ohau Point at 214 km. Work is underway sluicing and scaling the slips to get the material shifted. The estimated total volume is 20,000 cubic metres.
Site 8 is just to the south of KRN Tunnel 20 and 217 km. The estimated volume to be removed here is 41,000 cubic metres making it one of the larger slips being worked on, and work has been happening here this week too.
Just north of MNL 259 km is the Waima Overbridge, known to KRN as Bridge 132.
NZTA has had excavators at work at Waima digging out the culvert that carries the railway lane under SH1 at this location so that the structure can be repaired.
I'll need to make another post to complete this update so that should be ready tomorrow.
