Russell Road slip clearance at Helena Bay Hill

The past week has been mostly clear weather-wise, allowing work to continue with good progress made.

Contractors have managed to clear most of the new loose slip material, and progress is being made with formalising use of a northern fill site.

Slip material is being temporarily dumped at Mōkau Quarry while we wait for the official northern slip site to open – this material will be removed in due course.

Here are the key points of interest from the past week: 

• A weekly total of 5,172 cubic metres of material has been removed from the slip site in the week ending 31 July 2026. 
• This means a total of 74,324 cubic metres has been removed to date.
• This leaves an estimated 18,420 cubic metres to clear before we can begin working on the road surface.
• Kaiikanui Road was graded over the weekend (1 and 2 August) and will continue to be monitored.
• Over the next couple of weeks, the Ōakura urupa will be receiving several rocks from the slip to use in repairing their site.
• Mōkau Quarry is being used as a temporary fill site. Please be aware of large trucks moving on the northern side of the Russell Road slip.
• A public drop-in session will be held at Ōakura Hall on Sunday 9 August, from 12:00pm to 2:00pm. You can arrive at any time. All project managers and contract leads will be available to answer questions. 

Photo taken on Tuesday 28 July 2026, showing progress along the slip face where the seam of unstable, moving slip material was discovered. That darker-colour unstable material can be seen in the image below, with the lighter colour being the more compacted, stable surface. 

Phase two begins: Russell Road stays closed to prioritise slip clearance 

The slip on Russell Road at Helena Bay Hill has come to the end of phase one – removing about 70% of the slipped material and being in a position to assess our options from the road-level.

Phase two is to fully reopen Russell Road in both directions. In order to get this done as fast as possible, heavy machinery will continue operating through winter. Russell Road needs to remain closed to allow for this, and local traffic will continue to use the Kaiikanui Road detour. 

"We're focused on getting this road fully reopened as quickly as possible," says Hikurangi-Coastal ward Councillor Stephen Martin.

"There's a whole lot of mountain we're moving here, and we know that people want their road back. That's why the best way to have everything open before Christmas is to keep the slip clearance work moving without interruption. We've been reassessing the design of the slip site as we go to make sure we're getting the best outcome. Most importantly, we need to reopen this route as soon as we safely can."