After nearly two years of waiting, Pūhoi residents can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Auckland Transport (AT) has officially completed major repairs on Ahuroa Road, one of Rodney’s worst-hit areas following the devastating 2023 storm events.

The road, which links Pūhoi and Ahuroa, was severely damaged early last year.

Eight major slips along the route forced its closure to all but residents.

A particularly large slip near the top of the road left families facing long detours to get to work, school, and essential services.

Alan Wallace, Auckland Transport’s General Manager of Road Asset Maintenance and Renewals, says it’s been a significant job.

“We’re very pleased to have completed the repair of the last of the major slips and returned the road to the community,” he says.

Construction teams from Downer NZ and Mason Contractors worked through challenging weather and terrain to complete the repairs.

The biggest task involved building a highly technical $6.6 million concrete palisade wall, which used 166 piles driven up to 17 metres deep, along with 480 metres of soil nail anchors to stabilise the slip site.

Samantha Riley, Contract Manager at Downer NZ, highlights the team’s focus on reconnecting the community.

“A key achievement for us was enabling some of our youngest community members, children, to safely return to Ahuroa School,” she says.

“We understood how important this road is to people’s daily lives.”

The Pūhoi and Ahuroa communities have shown a great deal of patience throughout the process, says Rodney Local Board Chair Brent Bailey.

“Our Pūhoi community has been severely impacted because of the substantial damage caused by the storms,” he says.

“It has taken a long time to fix and reopen this road because of the difficult terrain and the challenges caused by the many slips, including this major slip.”

Ahuroa Road’s reopening is a huge step forward for locals who rely on it every day.

Road sealing maintenance, which is outside the flood repair project, is expected to take place at a later date.

For Coasties who travel this route or have friends and family in Pūhoi, it’s welcome news that life is getting back to normal.

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