The predicted heavy rain falling over SH6 in South Westland since the early hours of Wednesday is causing some surface flooding but so far no serious slips or highway delays, says Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.

South Westland rivers are rising rapidly and there is surface flooding between Haast and Hokitika on low-lying areas of highway. There is also surface flooding back into Otago, between Haast and Makarora.

“Following the MetService Red warning, as a precaution, Waka Kotahi and our maintenance contractors yesterday moved civil contractors and machinery to several locations in the South Westland area,” says Moira Whinham Maintenance Contract Manager for Waka Kotahi on the West Coast.

“This means that once the storm has passed, we can restore any areas of damage as quickly as possible.”

Waka Kotahi and its contracting teams are closely monitoring bridge approaches and other areas where storms have caused damage in the past.

Bridges will be closed if river levels get too high but at this stage that is not the case, says Miss Whinham.

“We continue to encourage all drivers between Makarora and Hokitika on SH6 to assess if their journey is really necessary given the heavy rainfall and visibility issues,” she says.

Buller update from MetService

Check the MetService map: https://www.metservice.com/warnings/home

Please note, MetService is now forecasting the rainfall over Buller could continue into Friday and Saturday.

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