____________________ QUAKE HIT ROAD SET TO OPEN __________________

In my blog post titled 'HEADED OFF AT THE PASS' here:   https://yachtee.blogspot.com/2019/01/headed-off-at-pass.html  I posted about the closure of the Sumner - Lyttelton road due to severe damage from the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Today in the morning newspaper I read some good news.

" A quake hit Christchurch road that has been closed for eight years is set to reopen next month. The critical road link between Sumner and Lyttelton over the Port Hills has been closed since the magnitude 6.3 February 22 2011 earthquake, which brought tonnes of rocks tumbling across it. But after years of work, a Christchurch City Council team and contractors say they are on track to have Sumner Road reopened to traffic at the end of March 2019".  - New Zealand Herald.

 Work on the road has included:

- Blasting and removing 100,000 cu m of rock.
- Building a 407 m long catch bench to intercept falling rocks.
- Building a 50m long, 7m high rock interception bund.
- Reinstating 2.6km of road.
- Replacing / resealing 16,700 sq m of road.
- Repairing / rebuilding 30 retaining walls, the biggest of which is 132m long and 7m high.

I am very pleased that this work will soon be completed. The view of the harbour from Evans Pass is one of my all time favourite views and the Sumner / Lyttelton road is the place of adventurous childhood memories. It looks like a journey south is in order in the next few months.