Central Hawke’s Bay District Council’s roading response programme has taken another step forward, with repairs to 24 roads and bridges damaged during Cyclone Gabrielle kicking off last week at the Gwavas Bridge site in Tikokino.

The $35.6 million roading response programme, funded 100 per cent by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA), will also see repairs to Wakarara Rd, Old Hill Rd, Flaxmill Bridge and sites on Hautope Rd begin next week. This will be followed by a steady work programme addressing other significant landslides, bridge repairs, and erosion and drainage issues before the end of June.

While the start of construction is welcome news, there is still considerable work ahead for the district, not just addressing investment in repairing damage from the cyclone but across the entire land transport network from weather events in 2022.

Chief executive Doug Tate says, “Last year we focused on getting all of our major roads and routes to be at least accessible to a single lane, often with weight restrictions, following the cyclone. We also completed nearly 3500 simple repairs to our roads funded 100 per cent by NZTA. This included clearing fallen debris and overslips from culverts and roads, repairing scour to roads, and addressing damage to drainage following the cyclone’s considerable rainfall.”

Tate says despite this work, the road to repairing the district’s roads remains long and there is still a backlog of maintenance work across the district to complete.

“We’ve been fortunate to have these response works fully funded by NZTA. Once these works are complete in June 2024, however, the district will still require major investment to ensure we have a road network that our communities can rely on.

“We still need an additional $129 million just to repair damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the damage caused by the extreme wet weather in 2022. How we fund this beyond 30 June this year and what a contribution locally and from central government might be is not yet known.”

The council will regularly update the community on the programming and progress of these major works through its website, local print, social media and radio, and direct communication with those residents who may be directly affected by the works.

For more information on the council’s roading recovery work and a complete list and details of cyclone recovery work programmed for 2024, visit: https://www.chbdc.govt.nz/our-district/projects/road-to-recovery/

For the latest roading updates visit: https://www.chbdc.govt.nz/services/roads-and-streets-land-transport/roads-streets-and-weather-event-information/