State Highway 35 (SH35) connects Opotiki to Gisborne along the Raukumara Peninsula in the North Island, New Zealand. This corridor passes through an area which is prone to landslides, especially during the wet season. This, in turn, influences the traffic and has detrimental effects to the local economy, as it is dependent mainly on tourism and commercial transportation by road. This paper will focus on the landslides which occurred between June and September 2018, within the Bay of Plenty East on the north side of the Raukumara Peninsula. The paper will analyze both the nature and triggering mechanisms behind these landslides. As the landslides occur in the wet season, rainfall has been commonly considered the main trigger. However, the paper will argue that vehicle vibrations have been contributing to the instability of the slopes within the Bay of Plenty East. This paper will be instrumental in developing future transportation strategies in this part of the North Island.
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