Auckland Transport (AT) is urging Aucklanders to stay away from heavily affected areas like Piha, Muriwai, Karekare, Te Henga Bethells Beach, and parts of the Waitakere Ranges.

Waitakere Councillor Shane Henderson agrees,

“I can’t stress enough, these locations are high risk and only residents and emergency services will be given access. The most important thing is for essential supplies and help to get to those who need it.

“Land especially around our Western beach communities continues to be unstable. Soil saturation remains quite high so there is still a risk of further slips, and any more rain may cause further movement. Remain vigilant,” he says.

“It’s been a heartbreaking time for many of our communities and the last thing they need is for people coming out to take photos of the devastation.”

Councillor Henderson says that at the same time it has been incredible to see the community spirit throughout the West.

AT is working around the clock to repair the damage across the region

Locations that have the highest risk or safety needs are prioritised for attention.

The work to assess roads and start the enabling works for repair is not always visible to the public, but the public can be assured that the work is progressing as quickly as possible.

To keep communities updated with progress on sites that will have long term repair programmes AT have set up a website that will provide up to date information about what phase the repair is for these roads, and predicted timeframes for completion. The site can be viewed here: at.govt.nz/roadrepairs

Murray Burt, who is leading AT’s flood recovery programme says in times like these it is vital to keep communities updated with progress.

“Auckland Transport is now moving into the recovery phase after the floods and cyclone. This will involve working closely with communities who have been hardest hit and keeping them fully informed in the coming weeks and months.

“Local Boards and councillors will be crucial in helping us to stay engaged with communities and to understand the issues people face as we work to restore the road network,” he says.

This website will:

• Provide a list of roads that have been identified with issues

• Provide expected timeframes for each phase through from investigation to repair and completion

• Be constantly updated with new information as it comes to hand

at.govt.nz/roadrepairs

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