Media Advisory Wednesday 12 September 2012

Skippers Road Slip

A significant section of road has dropped out on the historic Skippers Road. Council was alerted to the slip this morning, which is located about 18km in from Coronet Peak Road at a point known as ‘Devil’s Elbow’. The slip, which has seen approximately 80% of a five metre section of the road drop into the Shotover River, prevents vehicular access from that point.

All affected tourism operators have been advised and have already introduced contingency plans to work around the slip.

“All operators have advised they can continue to operate business as usual into Skippers,” Mr Mander said.

An initial inspection took place this morning, with a roading engineer to make a further assessment this afternoon. “He will be looking at possible engineering solutions but clearly it won’t be fixed overnight,” Mr Mander said.

Given the historic nature of the road the Council would be notifying and consulting with both the New Zealand Historic Places Trust and NZTA.

To ensure safety, contractors would build a large bund on the Queenstown side of the road, with clear signage.

ENDS

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