Work has begun on building a more secure alignment for a section of State Highway 35 on the East Coast.
The $5.7m Busby Hill project will bypass a vulnerable stretch of highway south of Tokomaru Bay that suffered a lengthy closure because of subsidence in July.
The Transport Agency says the project was to have been investigated over the next two years but has been moved forward because of the urgency of securing the important route.
It says the 1.3km realignment is great news for the region's economy, and will benefit truck-drivers, tourists and farmers.
