Safety works are underway to remove loose rock from the escarpment faces above Hillcrest Road. Due to the nature of the work to remove the unstable material the situation is subject to change, there will be delays and potential closures to roads in this area as the works continue.

Latest Update - 18 May 2021

Commerce Street, Whakatane, road closure Wednesday, 19 May 7am – 5pm

Commerce Street from Shapley Place (next to the Civic Centre) to The Strand and Canning Place will be closed to traffic while work is carried out to remove unstable rock from that section of the escarpment.

A detour to the CBD will be available through Shapley Place. 

Work is only expected to take a day, but if it is found to be more extensive, the same section of road could potentially be closed on Thursday.

14 May 2021:

Hillcrest Road is now open to traffic.

The abseiling team will be back the middle of next week to work on the Commerce Street section of the job. This will involve the closure of Commerce Street (from outside the Civic Centre to The Strand) and a detour through Shapley Place - we'll remind you of that closer to the time.

Thanks everyone for your patience as we remedy events of nature.

Previous updates:

13 May 2021

Clean-up of rock brought down by specialist abseilers working above Hillcrest Road will continue tomorrow.

Contractors today dealt with delays after the ultra-sharp rocks caused several tyre punctures to vehicles working on the clean-up.

We’ll provide a further update as soon as we can tomorrow, after an inspection from a geotech engineer. 

We understand the desire to get the road open again – we’re eager too – but we won’t do that until we’re completely satisfied it’s safe for road users.

11 May 2021

The abseiling specialists are encountering even more unstable material as they work to make the bottom section of Hillcrest Road safe. The extra work required means that section of Hillcrest Road is likely to remain closed until Friday.

That also means a delay to the start of rock removal on the cliff-face between Commerce Street and Canning Place. 

This part of the job is now scheduled for Thursday/Friday, so if you're heading into town from Commerce Street during the next phase of the work, you'll need to detour via Shapley Place. If you're on foot or mobility scooter, you can still use the western side of Commerce Street and Canning Place with caution.

4 May 2021 - Work begins

Work begins today to remove loose rock from the escarpment faces above Hillcrest Road. Hillcrest Road remains closed and the Canning Place steps will also be off limits for at least a day.

Signage is in place to divert pedestrians and motorists around the work site. If the rock removal goes to plan, the work is expected to be finished by Friday - however, the full extent of the work involved won’t be known until the site is accessed today.

From next week contractors will undertake a similar process on rocks above the Canning Place - Commerce Street area. Please avoid these areas over the next few days.

Thanks for your understanding while this necessary work is carried out.