State Highway 1 over the Brynderwyn Hills is due to finally reopen next week. Photo: Supplied / NZTA
"Incredibly relieved" - that's the reaction of a Northland business leader to news that State Highway 1 over the Brynderwyn Hills will reopen in just under a week's time.
Following a four-month closure for major repairs, the slip-probe stretch of highway - Northland's primary connection to the rest of the country - is due to re-open at 11.59pm on 26 June.
Two fresh slips in April delayed the reopening from the originally planned 13 May, and bumped up the project cost to $84 million.
Kerikeri District Business Association chair Sarah Curtis described the closure as "a very long journey".
"It's been a very stressful journey for a lot of our businesses. It's meant, personally, we just stopped going to Auckland because we couldn't be bothered with the drive anymore. There's been time delays, there's been accidents… So I'm incredibly relieved. It's just nice to feel connected again."
Early this year, when NZTA Waka Kotahi intended to shut the Brynderwyns on 7 February, Curtis led the push by Northland businesses for a later closure.
The steering group she helped establish persuaded NZTA to delay closing the highway until 26 February, allowing hospitality businesses to benefit from a few more weeks of summer earnings before the tap was turned off.
Curtis said the experience had proven the need to have long-term resilience built into Northland roads.
"We've had the Mangamuka closure as well, people in Kaitāia have been dealing with that for a lot longer than we've been dealing with the Brynderwyns, and it shows just how critical roading infrastructure is for Northland," she said.
"We can't just think, 'It's been patched up now and we'll figure something out later'. It really does need to be at the top of the list that we have a roading network that connects us to the rest of the country."
Riki Kinnaird, top right, with fellow Duke of Marlborough owners Anton Haagh, Bridget Haagh and Jayne Shirley. Photo: Supplied
Riki Kinnaird, co-owner of the Duke of Marlborough Hotel in Russell, summed up his feeling as "a massive relief".
He said the hotel had been "heavily impacted", with revenue down by about 45 percent from the same time last year.
Kinnaird attributed the decline to the combined effects of the highway closure and the cost-of-living crisis.
"Opening the Brynderwyns means people can plan and come through the gateway. Hopefully we can get people back into the rhythm of coming north. We just need to keep getting the message across that it's business as usual up here."
In the long term, Kinnaird said Northland should never again be allowed to get into such a position.
"We've had it too much over the last five years, with a combination of Covid, border controls, cyclones, and these repairs. We know there's a lifespan to the repairs, we've been told 10 years.
"A lot of heavy rocks have been lifted by our local MPs to get an alternative route sorted that is sustainable for the future, and it needs to happen really, really quickly. We can't let this ever happen again because people are going broke."
Paula Rogers, Northland representative for the National Road Carriers Association, said the reopening was "fabulous news" for truckies and freight companies.
Yesterday's announcement sparked spontaneous celebrations at her workplace.
"The whole office was actually doing the happy dance. We were so thrilled that we've had this early opening. It's such a big win for Northland business and the freight sector."
The past four months has been "a real struggle", especially for operators who had to take the longest detour around the west coast, adding significantly to their costs.
The association had long advocated for a bypass around the Brynderwyns.
"We need a 50-year plan, not just an immediate plan. This fix now in the Brynderwyns is only short term. The longer term needs to be addressed and we do need that western detour route for future proofing," Rogers said.
NZTA Northland recovery project manager Mark Ware says more than 900 people have worked to get the road open. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf
NZTA Northland recovery project manager Mark Ware said more than 900 people had worked on the site day and night, "in all sorts of conditions", to get the road open.
The intention had been to re-open the highway at the end of June.
"So to be able to open early, before Matariki weekend, is a great story for us, it's testament to all the effort and dedication the teams have put into this," Ware said.
He was "absolutely" confident the highway would stay open for the rest of winter.
The project crews had cut into the hillside to create a shoulder beside the highway, so if there were fresh slips they could be cleared without having to close the road and disrupt traffic.
It was not a permanent solution, but "recovery work" to get the highway back to where it was, or better, before last year's storms.
He estimated the repaired road up the south side of the Brynderwyns would have a lifespan of 10-15 years.
In the longer term the government had committed to finding an alternative route around the Brynderwyns.
Ware said a spend of $61 million had been approved at start of the project. The total cost, pushed up by the two extra slips, was now around $84 million.