Tairāwhiti/Gisborne & Eastern Bay of Plenty combined state highway update

January weather event response

13 February 2026

Community update 13

Kia ora koutou,

This is an update for the community on what's happening on the state highway network in Tairāwhiti and Eastern Bay of Plenty following the recent weather events.

Specifically, this update shares the latest emergency response information for:

• State Highway 2 (SH2) Waioweka Gorge 
• State Highway 35 (SH35) between Pōtaka and Tikitiki

MetService has issued an orange Heavy Rain Warning for Tairāwhiti and Bay of Plenty from tonight and over the weekend. 

If you're travelling this weekend, please drive with extra care and make sure to check Journey Planner or Facebook before you go for the most up-to-date state highway conditions.

Please be aware that things can change quickly due to weather or other unexpected issues.

Information is current as at 3:00pm Friday 13 February 2026.

Current situation

• MetService has issued an orange Heavy Rain Warning for Tairāwhiti and Bay of Plenty from tonight and over the weekend. Read more here.
• Adverse weather is set to impact travel through SH2 Waioweka Gorge this weekend. All convoys are cancelled on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 February, with the road fully closed due to the orange Heavy Rain Warning.
• From Monday 16 February convoys are expected to resume if conditions allow. 
• SH35 is closing 6pm tonight (Friday 13 February), between Lottin Point Road in Pōtaka through to Taurangakoau Bridge, 3km south of Te Araroa, until 6am Monday 16 February.
• SH35 remains extremely fragile and we are closing the road to protect people, our roadworkers and communities ahead of the incoming weather. Safety assessments will take place on Sunday 15 February to assess the road conditions when it is safe to do so.
• SH35 Te Araroa to Tikitiki is currently open until 6pm tonight (Friday 13 February), when the road will close between Taurangakoau Bridge to Te Araroa through to Pōtaka, until 6am Monday 16 February.
• SH35 will remain open between Taurangakoau Bridge and Tikitiki.
• The only detour route is SH2 Gisborne to Napier/SH5 Napier to Taupō. Please take extra care if you’re driving this route.

State Highway 2 Waioweka Gorge

With the orange Heavy Rain Warning in place for the weekend, the road will be completely closed on Saturday 14 February and Sunday 15 February, before convoys recommence on Monday 16 February morning, conditions permitting.

Over the weekend, temporary traffic management crews will be on site and emergency crews on standby to clear slips and rockfall if needed.

If the rain has passed through and the gorge remains accessible, geotechnical inspections will take place on Sunday to ensure the convoys are safe to restart on Monday. 

Keep an eye on our social media for updates.

State Highway 35 Pōtaka to Te Araroa

With heavy rain expected to fall on the region from tonight and over the weekend, we’re closing State Highway 35 ahead of time to protect people, our crews and our communities.

The road will be closed from Lottin Point Road, Pōtaka through to Taurangakoau Bridge, 3km south of Te Araroa, from 6pm tonight (Friday 13 February) until 6am Monday 16 February. Depending on the weather, tonight’s closure may happen earlier.

SH35 south of Taurangakoau Bridge will remain open to Gisborne.

If it is safe to do so, crews will carry out safety assessments on Sunday 15 February. 

Preparing for the weather ahead

Crews have been working hard this week to clear and prepare SH35 as much as possible ahead of the incoming weather. This includes clearing culverts and drainage, rock scaling, removing vegetation, and sweeping roads.

We’ve been working on a prioritised list of culverts and drainage clearing along SH35, focused on the large box culverts and larger drainage paths – we expect to complete it by this afternoon. Work on the smaller culverts and drains will take weeks to complete and will be ongoing.

Below are photos of the work happening yesterday on SH35 between Hicks Bay and Punaruku slip.

SH35 Te Araroa to Tikitiki

The road is currently open between Te Araroa and Tikitiki.

However, from 6pm tonight (Friday 13 February) the road will be closed from Taurangakoau Bridge up to Te Araroa (and through to Pōtaka as per current closure).

We're closing the road ahead of the heavy rain this weekend to protect people, our roadworkers and our communities. Expect this section to open 6am Monday 16 February to lifelines, essential services and residents.

SH35 south of Taurangakoau Bridge will remain open to Tikitiki and through to Gisborne.

Please take extreme care when driving through here. Crews are working to repair underslips and clearing drains and we may need to change temporary traffic management at short notice.

The map (updated Tuesday 10 Feb) highlights the key recovery sites on SH35. Tonight's closure extends down to Taurangakoau Bridge, south of Te Araroa, and will remain closed until 6am Monday morning.

Community travel information

We encourage you to delay travel where possible or allow plenty of extra time if you are taking the detour via SH2/SH5 via Hawke’s Bay. There is no detour via SH35.

Please note, there are also ongoing maintenance works on our network with stop/go temporary traffic management in place.  

A reminder to please take care on SH2 Gisborne to Napier. There are some stop/go traffic management sites and single lane sites along this journey into Hawke’s Bay, including the priority give-way bridge at Waikare. From next week our resealing crews will be working along SH2 in Hawke's Bay as the summer road renewals continue – please be patient and allow extra time for the journey.

Report issues on the state highways to 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)

Stay up to date on state highway conditions at NZTA’s Journey Planner.

Ngā mihi nui

Thank you for your patience while we work to restore access.

Thank you for supporting the teams working hard to reconnect Tairāwhiti and the Eastern Bay of Plenty.