Infrastructure

Engineers are today probing the stricken ferry, as the government weighs up the costs of replacing the country's ageing interisland ferry fleet.

The Tawhai Tunnel, south of Reefton, has been closed since 15 June due to a partial collapse.

Transpower says all the nuts securing the tower to the base plate on three legs were removed, causing the tower to fall.

Materials are being lifted by helicopter to the site, as part of a project to help reduce the risk of landslide on SH2.

There is a "huge infrastructure deficit" in Northland and recent failures were "just not fair" on the region, Darryn Fisher says. Audio

The vast bulk of Transpower's electricity towers are over 35 years old, and few have been put up in the last three decades.

The Aratere ferry will limp back to dock in Picton today after being refloated from where it ran aground in Picton Harbour, as environmental monitoring of the incident begins.

Power line and weather woes look set to continue for parts of the North Island, with work continuing on the Northland supply and storms forecast.

The government has said the timing is not related to the recent grounding of the state-owned enterprise's ferry Aratere.

The Aratere grounding shows the fragility of the link between the North and South islands, Transporting NZ says.

But the lines operator says it is on track to have capacity for the Monday morning surge.

With darkness falling and rain set to pound the area, the final works have been delayed until Sunday.

People have been turning out in Picton to get a glimpse of the stranded Aratere, which is visible from parts of the seaside town.

The Interislander ferry only recently underwent wet dock maintenance, which included the replacement of its steering system.

The government was "highly unimpressed" with KiwiRail's ferry maintenance standards, Simeon Brown said earlier this week.

Transpower is erecting a temporary pylon and is aiming to deliver more power to Northland by this evening.