Sign In / Register
Two years after the severe floods and cyclone, Auckland Transport (AT) is close to completing 98 per cent of repairs to major road slips in the Rodney region.
AT’s ‘North Rural’ area was the most severely impacted by the unprecedented storm events of 2023, with 323 slips, 67 of which were classified as major. Repair work has now been completed on 319 of those sites, with just four remaining where the job has yet to be finished:
• Ahuroa Road, Puhoi – five out of eight slips repaired, with completion expected in the next few weeks.
• Matakana Valley Road – nine out of 10 slips repaired, with just ‘Waterfall Corner’ now being worked on, which is expected to take until July.
• Takatu Road, Tawharanui – eight slips completed, but two are being monitored in case a redesign and further repairs are needed.
• Red Hill Road, Te Arai – Work yet to be started, but expected soon.
In total, more than 2000 slips were reported to AT during the Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods, Cyclone Gabrielle and subsequent storms. They wreaked havoc on the road and rail network, causing major damage to roads, bridges, banks, culverts, footpaths and wharves.
AT said 1200 smaller slips were fixed fairly quickly, but the remaining 800-plus required extensive
investigation to ensure sustainable and resilient re-engineering, even before any repair work could begin.
Road asset maintenance and renewals general manager Allan Wallace said some of the repairs were huge and tricky, such as the 15 slips on Ahuroa Road, which cut vehicular access between Puhoi and Ahuroa for months.
“It’s been a massive job, with a big price-tag,” he said. “To date, around $270 million has been spent repairing 639 serious slips. There’s still some way to go, but AT is on track to substantially complete the recovery programme this year.”
Wallace said AT expected the recovery programme to take up to three years, so it was good to be six months ahead of schedule.
“That’s largely due to a dedicated team of engineers, designers, project managers and site crews who’ve worked long hours through all weathers to repair our local roads and restore access for communities,” he said. “It’s been a long slog, but they’re committed to getting the job done, and after two years, I take my hat off to them.”
Wallace said the recovery works had allowed AT to upgrade stormwater assets and capacity to cope with future events.
“We’re injecting as much resilience as possible into each construction fix to cope with future extreme weather events in the face of changing climate conditions,” he said. “Being prepared for the unexpected is key.”
He said with that in mind, AT was trialling new electronic early flood warning systems at three flood-prone sites, including Kaipara Flats, and was developing a landslide predicting framework using data from existing slips and AI mapping across almost 8000km of Auckland’s road network.
The AT flood recovery programme is estimated to cost $390 million, jointly funded by the Crown and Auckland Council, with $199m from NZTA Waka Kotahi, $81m from Auckland Council and Crown Infrastructure Partners (now National Infrastructure Funding and Financing) providing $110m.
Recently completed slip repair sites:
Ahuroa Road, Puhoi – 5 of 8 slips
Ashton Road, Leigh
Goat Island Road, Leigh
Leigh Road, Leigh
Mahurangi Road East, Snells Beach
Makarau Road, Makarau
Matakana Valley Road – 9 of 10 slips
Moir Hill Road, Warkworth – 11 slips
Pakiri Road, Leigh and Pakiri – 8 slips
Smyth Road, Warkworth
Takatu Road, Tawharanui Peninsula – 8 slips
Tauhoa Road, Tauhoa
Waiwhiu Road, Dome Valley
West Road, Kaukapakapa
West Coast Road, Kaipara Flats – 9 slips
