Herepuru Road has reopened to light vehicles following a recent unplanned road closure caused by a major slip.

The road was closed after a significant slip on February 5. The immediate priority was keeping road users and workers safe while work was carried out to restore access as quickly as possible. Council staff and contractors worked to stabilise the area and assess the damage, and the road reopened to light vehicles on Tuesday this week.

A geotechnical inspection confirms that the immediate risks have been adequately mitigated to allow the road to reopen under conditions.

It is open to class 1 and 2 light vehicles only. Heavy vehicles, including stock trucks, fuel trucks and fertiliser trucks, must continue to use Manawahē Road until further notice. The affected section of Herepuru Road is operating as one lane only to keep vehicles away from the cracked and slumping area of the road.

Monitoring equipment will be installed so the team can closely track any movement or further cracking in this section.

Transport manager Ann‑Elise Reynolds said heavy vehicle access could not safely resume at this stage.

“At this point, allowing heavy vehicles to use this section of road would pose a high risk and could further compromise the stability of the remaining road,” she said. “Monitoring is being put in place so we can better understand how the ground is behaving and what safe access could look like in future.”

At this stage, the timeframe for restricted heavy vehicle use is unknown. Monitoring will help inform what future access could safely look like and whether further work is required. The council intends to provide an update to residents about heavy vehicle access by Friday next week.

During future MetService heavy rain watches or warnings, this bluff section of Herepuru Road is likely to be closed as a precautionary measure. Monitoring during future rain events will help inform what ongoing access looks like.