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An entire Northland town is knuckling down for a spring clean, ahead of the reopening of its main highway, which has been closed for more than two years . Kaitāia has been cut off from the highway south since August 2022, when a series of massive slips destroyed State Highway 1 through Mangamuka Gorge. A massive, $100-million-plus project by the NZ Transport Authority to rebuild the 13km section of road is finally due to be completed in December.

Kaitāia Business Association chair Josh Kirby described the reopening, scheduled for 20 December, as "a nice Christmas present". "Given it's been closed for quite a while - over 21⁄2 years, we felt it was worthwhile doing a little bit of mahi around town, having a little bit of a clean up, putting our best foot forward," he said. "It's an opportunity for our community to come together and take a bit of pride in our town.



" Work started on Monday, with businesses in the town centre encouraged to clean windows and building frontages, or to pick up rubbish. From 10am on Friday, volunteers planned to descend on the town square to collect up rubbish sacks, split into groups and fan out across town looking for litter. During the week contractors had been re-barking and refreshing the gardens, while through Friday, others would be waterblasting footpaths and alleys, and tidying up benches and rubbish bins.

Kirby said local businesses were hugely supportive. A local waste firm donated gloves, rubbish sacks and a skip; another business w.

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