Source: New Zealand Transport Agency
Around 90% of Cyclone Gabrielle recovery work on Tairāwhiti’s state highways has been completed after a busy 2025.
Crews will pause over the Christmas and New Year period (from 18 December to 5 January) and traffic will return to two lanes apart from at Kemps Hill, and one section of Mangahauini Gorge. The TREC team will return in early January to complete the remaining projects, all scheduled to finish in 2026.
The Transport Rebuild East Coast (TREC) alliance has been carrying out Cyclone Gabrielle recovery work, on behalf of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA), since 2023. TREC crews and local contractors have been working to restore 2 lane access and build resilience on the state highway network throughout Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay.
Across the 500 kilometres of state highway network in the region (SH2 and SH35), TREC has been focused on repairing 180 ‘faults’ (which includes slips under the road, slips over the road, culvert replacements and repairs). So far 166 of those ‘faults’ have been completed.
TREC project manager Richard Bayley says crews have worked solidly throughout the year, with the support of local contractors and communities, to complete projects and keep the highways open.
“It’s been another busy year and we’d like to thank the community for their patience as the recovery work has continued. Their support makes our job so much easier, and we don’t take that support for granted.
“We couldn’t deliver the work without the ongoing partnership and support of hapū kaitiaki and local contractors who continue to deliver great work on the state highway network. Around 80% of our East Coast recovery construction work is delivered by local contractors.
“Together, we’ve started construction on some of our most complex projects this year. This includes the last and largest stage of river management work at Mangahauini Gorge on SH35, the bridge rebuild at Hikuwai, and two sites with upgrades to prevent flooding – the Hakanui Straight project on SH2 near Te Karaka, and Rototahe on SH35, north of Tolaga Bay.
“We’ve also repaired numerous underslips, improved drainage, cleared silt from streams, and restored sections of highway back to two-lanes.
“Thank you to our Iwi and hapū partners who have continued to work closely with us to deliver better outcomes for communities.”
SH2 progress
Work completed includes:
- Otoko Hill. Work has now finished on a programme across 11 sites, transforming the area from slip-prone to storm-ready. Nearly 3km of new underground drains are reshaping the way water moves through one of Tairāwhiti’s most landslide-prone road corridors. Work includes repairing multiple landslides and reinforcing slopes with soil anchors and shotcrete to stabilise soft ground and protect the road.
- Rakauroa underslip. Cyclone Gabrielle had washed away the road shoulder creating an incredibly steep terrain. Soil nails stablised the ground beneath the road and a shotcrete (sprayed concrete) retaining wall was constructed.
- Matawai Road overslip. At this site just north of Ormond a willow wall was used to stabilise the slope which was prone to erosion.
Work underway includes:
- Hakanui Straight. Flood protection is well underway at this project (formerly known as Nesbitt’s Dip). An 850m stretch of state highway is being raised by 3m and drainage upgraded to reduce closures due to flooding. This work will continue until mid-2026.
SH35 progress
TREC’s recovery work on SH35 stretches from Tairāwhiti into the eastern Bay of Plenty.
Work completed in 2025 includes:
- Awatere Gully underslip. A buttress (supporting) structure was built to repair an underslip and the road was reinstated.
- Kopuaroa Slip 1. An underslip was repaired with a soil nail and shotcrete wall and the road was opened to two lanes in December.
- Kopuaroa slip 2. An underslip at this site requires soil nails and shotcrete (sprayed liquid concrete) to stabilise and rebuild the hillside.
- Kemps Hill subsidence. Three faults were repaired and the road restored to two lanes. Work included building a buttress, using a willow wall.
- Paronga (D9). Two underslips were repaired with a buttress wall and also an MSE (Mechanically Stabilised Earth) wall.
- Rotokautuku (Waiapu) Bridge. Repairs have been completed on the bridge bearings and cross bracing. These components absorb movement and keep the structure. This work involved lifting the bridge by approximately 2cm.
Work underway includes:
- Hikuwai Bridge No.1 replacement. Piling work started in early December to replace the single, two-laned bridge that is being built to replace the Hikuwai bridge destroyed by Cyclone Gabrielle. Expected to be complete in late 2026.
- Mangahauini Gorge programme of works are well underway to install hanbars in the river, repair the sheetpile wall, install new drainage and shift thousands of tonnes of slip material. Expected to be complete in mid-2026.
- Rototahe flood protection.The state highway will be raised and the drainage will be upgraded to reduce closures due to flooding. Expected to be complete in early 2026.
- Rotokautuku (Waiapu) Bridge. Rock revetment (protection) work is underway to repair the area beneath the bridge and protect it from future erosion impacts of the Waiapu River. Expected to be complete in April.
- Tōrere underslip and overslip. More than 30 steel soil nails are locked into the hillside at the underslip site to help stabilise. At the overslip site all 9 layers of an MSE (Mechanically Stabilised Earth) Wall are finished and the crew is now adding drainage. Expected to be complete in March 2026.
