State Highway 3 at Mt Messenger will be open to two lanes from 5pm today.

A small stretch of road was reduced to one lane on Thursday evening to allow crews to remove loose material from the hillside, following an earlier slip.

The road has been reduced to one lane since Thursday evening and stop / go traffic management has been in place between the bypass project office and a point about 800 metres south of the intersection of SH3 and Mangaonga Road.

Crews have made good progress over the last two days, scaling the area for any loose material.

The area is now safe to reopen and two lanes will be operational from 5pm today (Sunday).

Update 15 October

A stretch of State Highway 3 through Mt Messenger is down to one lane, following a slip on the side of the road.

Heavy and persistent rainfall has caused the slip.

Crews have cleared the slip however the lane closure is needed while they remove unstable material from the hill side.

Stop / go traffic management is now in place between the bypass project office and a point about 800 metres south of the intersection of SH3 and Mangaonga Road.

A reduced speed limit is also temporarily in place.

Please expect significant delays travelling through the area, of around 30 minutes, while the northern lane remains closed.

The lane will reopen when it is safe to do so.

Drive to the conditions and adhere to all traffic management in place.

Awakino Gorge

Heavy and persistent rainfall caused flooding through the area this morning. The road is currently open, to one lane through the significant slip site.