Northland’s “shocking roading infrastructure” has again come under fire following torrential rain which closed the main state highway at the Brynderwyns and put a dampener on the long weekend for businesses.

Torrential rain over the
weekend caused devastating floods and landslips, especially in Auckland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty. A state of emergency remains in place across the Auckland region and in Waitomo.

State Highway 1 at the Brynderwyn Hills remains closed, with motorists having to detour around Mangawhai and Waipū. Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency can’t say when the road will reopen.

Northland Chamber of Commerce president Tim Robinson said Northland businesses had been “significantly impacted” over the Auckland and Northland anniversary weekend.

“We haven’t had the visitor traffic up here that could be expected for a long weekend.

“Places like camping grounds were already impacted due to the forecast, and the fact no one could travel up here has been an absolute debacle … because we’ve got such shocking roading infrastructure.

“It’s not so much the immediate revenue loss, it’s the longer-term impact… people will say, ‘We couldn’t get up here this long weekend, so I’m not going to bother again, I’ll go somewhere else because the roads aren’t fantastic’.”

Robinson said Northland needs “a true four-lane expressway”, such as the one in the Waikato.

“The roading infrastructure in Northland is way below standard and needs to be addressed urgently.”

He urged visitors, including Aucklanders, not to stay away during the upcoming Waitangi weekend.

“Don’t stress about whether the roads are a bit bumpy on the way. Please come and spend time here – businesses are ready.”

Restauranteur Llyod Rooney said it had been an “abysmal summer, and this poor weekend was the icing on the cake”.

The Cove was down about 30 per cent in revenue this weekend, he said.

“It’s very disappointing after the summer we’ve had.”

Rooney, who co-owns several restaurants including The Quay, Number 8 and The Cove, said long weekends “make a massive difference” to businesses.

“Friday, the rain was torrential, so everywhere was quiet.

“Saturday wasn’t too bad. People had nowhere to go, and they ended up sticking around the town basin.

“Today and Monday – so far, it’s pretty quiet out there. It’s the coastal places that will really suffer.”

Tūtūkākā Gallery owner, artist Steve Moase, said the long weekend had been “very quiet”.

“There’s hardly anyone around.

“We had a very quiet day yesterday, which is unusual for a Saturday.

“There’s the odd person today, but it’s not what you’d expect for a long weekend.”

MetService has issued a heavy rain warning and severe thunderstorm watch for Northland and Auckland for 15 hours from 7pm on Sunday to 12pm on Monday.

The slow-moving front could see heavy rainfall which could cause flooding and lead to more slips.

MetService meteorologist Luis Fernandes said Monday morning would be wet, but it would improve by the afternoon.

Tuesday could “take a turn for the worse”, he said.

“We are going to see the system responsible for everything over the last few days bring another bout of rain to Northland, and there’s a possibility it could be heavy.”

Northland Civil Defence controller Graeme MacDonald said though there had been a few weather warnings lately, “Northlanders should take this one seriously and be prepared”.

Fernandes said the rest of the week was looking more settled, with isolated showers, and more sun from Wednesday onward.

Road crews worked overnight to fix the damage and reopen roads across the North Island after relentless rain caused additional slips, forcing more closures.

Some, including SH1 at Pūhoi, have been reopened. However, SH1 at Brynderwyn Hills is closed from the SH12 intersection to Waipū due to large slips on the southern side.

Freight and heavy vehicles are being asked to detour via SH12, and light vehicles can detour via Waipū/Mangawhai.

Waka Kotahi maintenance and operations regional manager Jacqui Hori-Hoult said with more heavy rain expected in the north half of the North Island, “the safety of road workers and the public remains the main priority”.

“Damage to SH1 at Brynderwyn Hills also means that crews will be closely monitoring this area.

“Our priority is to re-open this road as quickly as possible, given the long weekend. However, with additional rain expected, we won’t hesitate to close this road if needed.”