More than three years after a slip first closed Stafford Drive in Tasman, the scenic road has finally opened to two-lane traffic.
The road, just north of Māpua, was closed by a slip during the August 2022 storm before re-opening to a single lane the following December after around 700 cubic metres of material was removed.
However, concerns about the ongoing stability of the cliff face had left the road as one-way, until last week.
“Observations of the behaviour of the cliff face, and a reassessment by a geotechnical professional, have enabled us to adjust the management plan for this site and reopen it to two lanes,” a Tasman District Council spokesperson said.
However, they warn that the risk of further slips remains.
The district’s winter storms had “minimal impact” on the cliff face.
“Which on one hand was pleasing but, on the other hand, has not dislodged the main area of risk that the geotechnical professional has identified,” the spokesperson said.
A revised safety plan has now been implemented to close the road once specific rainfall triggers were hit which indicated that the cliff was most at-risk of further slips.
If a closure is required, newly installed gates on either side of the hill will be closed and signs will advise drivers of the road status before the detour along Pomona and Marriages Roads.
Stafford Drive is a key route between Māpua and Tasman village, with traffic counts just 1km north on Aporo Road recording almost 2100 vehicle movements per day.
Tasman Area Community Association chair Greig Caigou was “pleased” to see the scenic road return to two lanes.
Though most people had got used to the single lane, he said a return to two lanes “clears up the flow” of traffic when it was busy.
“If they had a stream of cars that would just keep going, they all felt they had the right of way when a little bit of give and take needed to happen.”
But ultimately, residents just appreciated using Stafford Drive without loading vehicles onto the narrow Pomona-Marriages detour, which could become “problematic” once buses or trucks used it, Caigou said.
“We’re just happy that there’s access, really, without added pressure on that alternative route.”
Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
