Road to Franz Josef partially open but more work to clear West Coast slips

Wednesday, 11 December 2019

A massive slip came down, covering a large paddock on a dairy farm near Harihari after a huge amount of rain fell on the West Coast.

Access to a West Coast tourist hotspot is open from the south after slips block the road in and out.

State Highway 6 south of Whataroa has reopened after it closed between Hokitika and Haast – cutting of towns accessing Franz and Fox glaciers – during a weekend of heavy rain, slips and floodwaters. Northern access to Franz Josef is still blocked.

Dozens of tourists were flown out of the town by helicopter on Monday and a convoy of 400 people were escorted by road about 2pm on Tuesday.

Slips and flooding are causing issues for motorists and authorities on the West Coast of the South Island. Here, the damage to the road at the foot of Mt Hercules, near Whataroa is apparent.

NZ Transport Agency system manager Pete Connors said some sections would be single lane for some time to come and urged motorists to take care.

**READ MORE:

One of the big dropouts or road collapses at Mt Hercules/Whataroa after storm event.

* Tourism hotspots 'face devastation' after weekend of storms, floods and slips

* Massive slip blocking West Coast road could take six weeks to fix

A massive slip came down covering a large paddock on the diary farm Samuel Walsh manages near Harihari.

* Stranded travellers and residents hunkering down in flooded Rangitata as roads remain closed**

'The journey will be slow in places while crews continue to remove and remediate slips sites and road shoulder damage after the recent torrential rainfall and flooding,' he said.

The road between Harihari and Whataroa at Mt Hercules is still closed due to several extensive slips and road washouts. NZTA aimed to have it reopened by Christmas, Connors said.

The only opening restriction on the route south of Whataroa was in the Fox Hills section between the two glacier townships. This section would close at nights between 8pm and 8am until further notice.

Grey District mayor Tania Gibson said the weather had settled and the West Coast was open for business as usual.