Roading crews have made good progress over the weekend reopening local roads affected by last week’s weather event and flooding, which left widespread damage across the Ruapehu district.

Council road engineers have been assessing roads, bridges, and other infrastructure, with repair work focused on restoring access to at least one lane.

There are now no isolated communities, although many roads remain in a fragile condition.

Ruapehu Controller Clive Manley said reinstating reliable road access was the top priority for rural residents, particularly farmers whose livelihoods depend on dependable transport links.

“Our crews have been working as quickly as possible to reconnect the network, and we’re pleased to now have access restored to all townships that had been isolated,” he said.

Floodwaters caused around 80 percent of the roading damage leaving behind cracking, slumping, heavy silt deposits, logs, debris, together with numerous slips and dropouts.

With roads reopening, Mr Manley is urging motorists to take extreme care.

“There will be heavy vehicles and repair crews operating across the district, specifically around Ohura and Matiere.

We’re asking people to drive cautiously and to be patient as some repairs will take time to complete, and with more rain forecast next week, the risk of new slips remains,” he said.

Council Infrastructure Manger Vini Dutra added that once we are getting people and goods moving again the focus will shift to planning and implementing long-term repairs.

“While NZTA’s emergency funding arrangements allow remedial work to reopen the network, permanent solutions require detailed engineering assessments and costings.

Although this takes longer, it means Council and NZTA can make informed decisions about whether to replace damaged assets like-for-like or invest in greater long-term resilience,” Mr Dutra said.

“This latest weather event is the third major storm in five months.

The first weather event in June caused $2.23 million in damages with the second in July costed at $1.9 million.

Damage and repair costs for this most recent event will also be in the millions of dollars.

We were still working through repairs from the July weather event, with around 100 sites yet to be completed, and were expecting NZTA funding approval for this work within the next two to three weeks.

Even with an increased Funding Assistance Rate (FAR) from NZTA to support recovery works, Ruapehu ratepayers will still need to contribute a significant local share - potentially more than $1 million across the three storm events.

Council will be working to unlock funding from all possible sources to reduce the financial pressure on Ruapehu ratepayers,” he said.

Progress in undertaking repairs including on road conditions will be posted on Council’s website ruapehudc.govt.nz and Facebook page.

People are asked to continue to call Council on 07 895 8188 with any road outage information.

Notes:

LOCAL ROAD INFORMATION : MON 20 OCT - 1.00pm

Takiri Road - CLOSED

Tapuiwahine Road - CLOSED- closed at 8km - bridge off deck beams

Hohotaka Road - CLOSED - extensive damage - residents only

Kokomiko Road - CLOSED - extensive damage - residents only - reassessment needed

Ongarue Stream Road - CLOSED - closed from Okauaka Rd onward other than for residents

Poro-o-Tarao road - CLOSED - residents only - ok for milk collection

Taringamotu Road - CLOSED - between 12.7 and 19.5km - residents only

Kururau B - OPEN

MacClure Road (off Ohura Rd) - OPEN

Mangapapa Road - OPEN - slippery and pavement damage

Mangaparo Road - OPEN - slips

Ngakonui Ongarue Road - OPEN

Ngapuke Road - OPEN - some slumping

Ongarue Waimiha Road - OPEN - some slips

Pukehou Road - OPEN - some slumping - one lane

Waitaanga Road - OPEN

Waitea Branch Road - OPEN - some slumping

Waituhi Road - OPEN

Huia Road - OPEN WITH CAUTION - has been flooded in places - slippery and pavement damage

Mangapapa Road - OPEN WITH CAUTION - has been flooded in places - slippery and pavement damage

Ohura Mokau Road - OPEN WITH CAUTION

Ohura North Road - OPEN WITH CAUTION - has been flooded in places - slippery and pavement damage

Ohura Road - OPEN WITH CAUTION - slippery surfaces

Okahukura Saddle Road - OPEN WITH CAUTION - slips and large dropout

Ongarue Back Road - CLOSED - slippery surfaces with some slips and dropouts

Roto Road - OPEN WITH CAUTION - has been flooded in places - slippery and pavement damage

Tanga Road - OPEN WITH CAUTION - large slump at RP850

Waitewhena Road - OPEN WITH CAUTION - has been underway in places - slippery and pavement damage

Oio Road - UNKNOWN - engineer inspecting

Williamson Road - UNKNOWN - engineer inspecting

STATE HIGHWAYS

SH3, SH4 and SH43 are OPEN

Sections of SH3, SH4 and SH43 will have multiple sites under stop/go traffic controls over the coming 2-3 weeks (until mid-Nov), and road users can expect additional travel times of approximately 40-60 minutes in these areas.

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