Work is progressing to repair an underslip near Otoko on State Highway 4, between Whanganui and Raetihi, with crews expecting to reopen the road next Friday (4 July).

This stretch of road is currently closed and to complete the work on time, the road will be closed for extended periods each day next week (from Monday 30 June).

The daily closure will be in place between 8.30am and 5pm each day. No vehicles will be able to travel through Otoko during this time, with the only exception being emergency vehicles. 

Currently that closure though Otoko is in place between 9am and 2.30pm. No changes to timings are expected this week (Monday 23 to Friday 27 June).

During works next week, access will remain for residents and workers either side of the Otoko work site (north of the Otoko worksite to Raetihi, and south of the Otoko worksite to Whanganui).

From 6.30am–8.30am and from 5pm–6pm, residents and workers will be given access through Otoko and able to travel the full length of the SH4 corridor (but not able to pass through Otoko between 8.30am – 5pm). 

All other road users will be detoured onto SH49 and SH1 during these daytime closure hours. 

Outside of work hours, a stop/go will be in place until the northbound lane is reinstated. The road is also open on Saturdays and Sundays. 

Next steps

While the closure allows for the drilling to be completed, focus will shift to the next phase of these works, to rebuild the northbound lane. Rebuilding the northbound lane will start from 7 July to the end of September. 

Further stop/go temporary traffic management, with delays of up to 15 minutes, is expected until the end of September.

Thank you

We wish to thank all road users for taking detours and to the local businesses, residents and communities for their support during this closure period. We know this detour will add time to journeys and we appreciate people’s understanding while this work is carried out to repair and improve the resilience of this section of SH4.