30 January – SH25 Whangamatā to Whiritoa OPEN

State Highway 25 between Whangamatā and Whiritoa is OPEN.

A reminder that anyone planning to travel to the Coromandel this weekend is advised to allow plenty of extra time for their journey and expect to see traffic management and speed restrictions at a number of locations.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi would like to thank the Coromandel community and visitors for their patience while we go about restoring full access to SH25.

Please drive with care.

29 January – SH25 Whangamatā to Whiritoa expected to open tomorrow

Thanks to some exceptional efforts by our contractor Higgins, helped by fine weather, State Highway 25 between Whangamatā and Whiritoa is now expected to open by 8am tomorrow morning, Friday 30 January.

The work to clear the road is nearly complete and once this is done the site will be examined by a geotechnical specialist to confirm that it is safe for traffic to use. If there are any signs of instability then the reopening will be put on hold while an assessment is made.

Once the road has reopened we will let the community know by updating our Journey Planner,  social media pages and via media release. Until SH25 between Whangamatā and Whiritoa is open we would ask people to avoid the area and check Journey Planner for updates.

Also on Friday, a 2km long section of stop/go traffic control will be set up on SH25 Pumpkin Hill, north of Tairua. Within this 2km stretch there are sites which have priority give way, however the visibility for these is not ideal. In order to make this section of SH25 safer, the stop/go will remain in place for the foreseeable future while the slips are addressed.  

With the last closed section of SH25 set to reopen, the focus will now move to the ongoing cleanup which is expected to take some months.

Currently, there are around 20 locations around the Coromandel where SH25 is down to one lane due to slips above or under the road.

Some of these will be simple to clear however others will need further work to stabilise the slope before the road can reopen to 2 lane traffic.

Anyone planning to travel to the Coromandel is advised to allow plenty of extra time for their journey and expect to see traffic management and speed restrictions at a number of locations.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi would like to thank the Coromandel community and visitors for their patience while we go about restoring full access to SH25.