Kaikōura's Coastal Highway
The damage caused by the 7.8-magnitude November 2016 Kaikōura earthquake to the Main North Line railway and SH1 along the east coast of the South Island was unprecedented in New Zealand.
As 20 faultlines ruptured, thousands of landslides dumped down on the transport corridor instantly isolating communities and bringing travel, including critical commercial freight, to a halt.
With 3,300 ‘things to fix’ to get State Highway 1 and the Main North Line rail reopened, and then more resilient, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and KiwiRail came together in a unique road and rail partnership - the North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery (NCTIR) Alliance.
The following link takes to a webpage that is full of amazing stories of the work undertaken over the rebuild period.
Kaikōura earthquake rebuild stories
The Cultural Artwork that can now be sighted along the coastal corridor evolved out of a design hui held in November 2018 between NCTIR and the Cultural Advisory Group about the stories that could be told along the Kaikōura coastline – and especially at several Safe Stopping Areas. These initial ideas have since developed into an extensive range of culturally significant artworks including pouwhenua & tekoteko (carved pillars), vapour blasted murals, laser cut corten steel and information panels. The artwork has been installed along the coastline from Oaro to Clarence.
Download this document to learn more about the stop off areas along the coastal corridor and their cultural significance.
nctir-cultural-artwork-package-april-2021.pdf