A stretch of State Highway 35 will close from 8pm today at the site of the Punaruku slip, between Te Araroa and Hicks Bay.

We’ve been monitoring the Punaruku slip closely during the Heavy Rain Watch(external link) and the rainfall today has exceeded pre-determined safety thresholds. At this stage the Metservice warning is in effect until 1am tomorrow.

The closure is being made proactively to keep everyone safe overnight.

The road at the slip is still in a very fragile state so we’re closing it to protect road users.

We expect to reopen at 7am tomorrow morning following safety assessments.