OTIRA GORGE BLOCKED

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30681, 22 February 1965, Page 14

OTIRA GORGE BLOCKED

Rock Fall On Coast Side A heavy fall of rock and rubble, about a mile on the West Coast side of the Otira Gorge summit on Friday, completely blocked the highway and caused a congestion of motor-cars on the Canterbury side. The majority of vehicles contained representatives of clubs who were on their way to attend the sixtieth Rotary Conference of District 298. Contractors engaged on widening the road had fired a shot earlier in the morning which had brought down a large quantity of rock and earth from the hillside. This was cleared away, but later there was another unexpected fall which carried away a half-bridge—one of several built to give sufficient road width. In the absence of this bridge, the contractors had to commence cutting further into the side of the hill to make room for through vehicles. They were unable to achieve this objective, however, and the road remained closed throughout the week-end. A number of car drivers retreated through North Canterbury and took the Lewis Pass route to get to Greymouth. This involved an additional 200 miles with an extra five hours’ travelling. Several Rotarians, however, decided against the longer journey and returned to their homes.