Sinkhole delays Takaka Hill traffic as more heavy rain forecast

Tuesday, 28 May 2019

Contractors work to restore a section of SH60 on Takaka Hill after part of the road sunk this morning. Work had been ongoing since the road was wiped out by ex-tropical cyclone Gita in February last 2018.

Heavy rain across Nelson Tasman is already causing problems with a sinkhole delaying traffic on the Takaka Hill road.

MetService expects rain to get heavier throughout Tuesday, easing off by Wednesday before another front brings more rain later in the week.

Contractors work to restore a section of SH60 on Takaka Hill after part of the road sunk this morning.

The sinkhole occurred near the bottom of Takaka Hill on the Riwaka side and briefly closed the state highway after 8am while stop/go controls were put in place.

About 1.30pm NZTA advised the road was open to one lane under traffic lights with speed restrictions in place.

* Repairs to the Takaka Hill road set to continue throughout summer

* Cyclone Gita closes roads across the South Island**

Motorists have been advised there will be short delays at the site.

Tasman District Council spokesman Chris Choat said a small sinkhole developed on a section of the road which had already been reduced to one lane.

He said there had been a temporary closure of about half an hour, while the sinkhole was refilled.

The New Zealand Transport Agency said the drop-out happened near a site where crews were drilling rock anchors to strengthen the road as part of the post-Cyclone Gita repair work.

'Occasionally water can infiltrate places which are being drilled, undermine the existing surface, leading to further repairs,' a spokeswoman said.

The incident happened following heavy rain over the Takaka Hill overnight.

Metservice meteorologist April Clark said there was a heavy rain watch in place for Nelson between 9am Tuesday and 1am Wednesday with periods of heavy rain expected during that time.

'We have a series of heavy fronts moving over the country, we have a very active one west of Fiordland and a warmer front is moving over the rest of the country at the moment.'

Clark said the West Coast would be the worst affected, but Nelson would be in the firing line as a cold front moved across the region overnight, bringing northerlies with it.

The Western Ranges would get a lot of rain, but that would ease on Wednesday. The fronts brought with them a risk of thunderstorms and gusty conditions.

'If you are heading out it means there is a risk of flooding, poor visibility on the road and if you are on those western coasts where there has been prolonged rain already, there could be swollen rivers.'

Large sections of the Takaka Hill have already been undergoing repairs, following the slips that damaged the road during Cyclone Gita in February 2018.