Ōakura locals adjust to new reality as main road blocked for months

Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf

A nail-biting, mostly single-lane gravel road will remain the key lifeline linking a storm-battered Northland town with the outside world for the next eight to 14 weeks.

That's how long the Whangārei District Council expects it will take to clear a monster slip at Helena Bay Hill on Russell Road, the main road between Ōakura and Whangārei.

The slip came down on Wednesday at the end of a four-day deluge that soaked the district's northeast coast.

The tiny settlement of Punaruku, for example, recorded as much rain each hour between 3am and 5am on 18 January as most places in Northland get in the entire month.

A washed-out bridge on the road from Ōakura north to Russell reopened after temporary repairs on Saturday night, but the only direct link to Whangārei - via Pigs Head Road and Kaiikanui Road - is a back route open to local residents, recovery workers and emergency services only.

'Lifeline road' remains steep, narrow and unsealed

Nena Rogers, owner of Ōakura Bay Store, said the closure of the main road to Whangārei would hit the business hard.

"It'll definitely slow us down. People won't be able to come here for fishing on the weekends and things like that. It's our busy season, so it will have a huge impact on us further down the track. We have to make money in the summertime to get through the winter, so we can carry on the service we've provided for the past 30 years."

Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf

Rogers said the past year had already been tough due to the economic climate and