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Akatarawa Rd, near Reikorangi, was closed due to an accident involving a truck on November 12.

The truck that was carrying around 40,000 litres of petroleum rolled over into a ditch while turning a sharp bend at around 2:30 pm.

The road was closed overnight as it was too late in the evening to remove the full rig, let-alone, the whole trailer and petroleum tank.

Source: CC/ Sam Hudson

During the last two weeks, extraction of the product and safety planning was underway to ensure the scene was safe for removal of the rig and trailer.

The rig was removed safely on November 13, including the trailer.

The petroleum tank product inside was extracted with liquid suction pipes.

Akatarawa Rd was reopened to the public until November 27 — the road closure was planned for November 26, but due to bad weather, it was rescheduled.

Throughout the day today, a large crane was set up for the removal of the petroleum tank.

From 12:35 pm — 2:45 pm, the removal took place.

The road was reopened to the public at around 6:00 pm.

Source: CC/ Sam Hudson

New signs were installed throughout the last two weeks giving notice to truck drivers about turning around and not to progress further.

The signs were installed due to public outcry as recently Google Maps and GPS systems have been classing Akatarawa Rd as a bypass of State Highway 1 due to a glitch which said the road was closed.

Images: CC/ Sam Hudson

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This publication comes at a cost and time but is free to read — thisquality will never paywall content as news should always be accessible at any given moment. It doesn't have to be much, as we give you a choice to choose what you want to contribute, and we ask that you consider donating to continue reading more of our news sourced from trustworthy official government and independent newswires around New Zealand at your price.

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