A Wairarapa highway to a long weekend tourist hotspot is closed and motorists are being warned to watch for flooding on stretches of highway north of Wellington this morning.
The New Zealand Transport Agency says there is flooding over a 15km stretch of State Highway 1 between Waikanae and Otaki and at least one road in Lower Hutt is under deep floodwater.
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A bridge on SH53 linking Martinborough to Featherston has also been flooded and is impassable after heavy rain lashed the lower North Island yesterday.
FLOODING: #SH1 Waikanae to Otaki. Please #TakeCare if you are travelling through this area. ^MN pic.twitter.com/PL7OCMqh95
— NZTA Wellington (@NZTAWgtn) February 2, 2017
Last night councils across the Wellington region closed a number of streets because of rising floodwaters. The Hutt City Council closed Harcourt Werry Drive from Kennedy Good Bridge to Conolly St and asked people to stay off roads and avoid the rising Hutt River. This morning Block Rd in Lower Hutt remained closed because of flooding.
LOCAL ROAD: Block Road is CLOSED due to flooding. Please use alt route. ^MN pic.twitter.com/zGZiFrHxKk
— NZTA Wellington (@NZTAWgtn) February 2, 2017
The NZTA said the Waihenga Bridge on SH53 was now under water, closing the road between Martinborough and Featherston. Detours were in place.
ROAD CLOSED: Waihenga Bridge on #SH3 Martinborough due to flooding. More information to come. ^MN pic.twitter.com/jYxlqB4hB4
— NZTA Wellington (@NZTAWgtn) February 2, 2017
The unexpected road closure comes on the eve of the Martinborough Fair and long weekend holiday traffic. The MetService said 88mm of rain was recorded at Kaitoke in the Akatarawa Valley yesterday as Lower Hutt bore the brunt of yesterday's deluge.
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