New Zealand

What the Manawatū Gorge road replacement could look like

18:16 pm on 27 July 2018

NZTA has released a computer generated look at the possible route for the Manawatū Gorge road replacement.

An aerial view of the slip near Woodville. Photo: Supplied / NZTA

While a final design is yet to be confirmed, project manager Lonnie Dalzell said the indicative route sees the new road run from near the western entry of the closed SH3 gorge route, across the Ruahine Ranges north of the gorge, and reconnect to SH3 at Woodville.

The road along State Highway 3 closed last April because of slips in the gorge.

"[The video] provides a visualisation which gives people an idea where the road will go over the Ruahine Ranges and a feel for what it might look like," she said.

"Great progress is being made on the new road, as well as this sneak peek, the project team has recently completed geotechnical investigations along the proposed corridor of the replacement route."

A total of 15 boreholes, the deepest being 50m, yielded 530m worth of core samples which have now been sent to the lab for testing.

Ms Dalzell said the samples will provide further understanding of the area and key information for the project.

The new route decided for Manawatū Gorge road will take six years and up to $560 million to complete.