By Dan Parker
A stretch of State Highway 3 through the Manawatu Gorge is to remain closed until at least June because of slow progress clearing a slip.
Despite hopes the road would be reopen later this month, traffic will have to continue using detours when travelling between Palmerston North and Woodville.
The road has been closed since last August, and the only visible progress since then has been cutting steps, or benches, in an attempt to make it more stable.
It’s slow and specialised work – NZTA State Highways Manager David McGonigal says the benching process will be finished in six weeks, followed by six weeks of clearing slip material from the gorge.
He says the slip’s instability is the biggest issue, making this one of the most challenging and dangerous work sites in the country; a cliff face with falling rocks on one side, a 150m drop on the other.
On average a team of thirty is working at any one time.
Authorities hope the work that's being done here will solve a recurring slip problem, and Mr McGonigal says the reason behind the persistent slips has been uncovered.
“The hillside is the site of an ancient slip, so the hillside is in fact slip material in itself,” he says.
“It means we have clay with very large boulder mixed through it.”
Over 300 truckloads of material are removed from the site every day – but until June, that will be the only traffic through this important road link.
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