TREC Hawke's Bay recovery update

21 March 2025

Tēnā koe,

Welcome to the latest update sharing TREC’s road and rail progress across Hawke’s Bay.

This issue includes new state highway sites about to start – including some of the narrowest spots our crew will be working on – and one of the latest KiwiRail sites to be completed.  

Thank you for continuing to drive safely through work sites. The people working here are local – your friends and whānau – and we want them to make it home safely each night.

SH5: three in a row at Māori Gully

Three underslips in a row is the latest challenge for the TREC alliance on State Highway 5 (SH5) at Māori Gully between Glengarry and Te Pōhue.

Here the road runs narrowly along the top of Māori Gully with the Pokopoko Stream below. The three slips (shown in photo below) have made this section of road vulnerable to further erosion and slips, making repairs essential. 

Slip 2 and 3 repairs are relatively straightforward. Abseilers will put in erosion control matting to stop soil underneath washing away. Held in place by soil anchors, plant life will grow through it, adding further erosion protection. 

Slip 1 is more complicated. The team will build an approximately 2.5m high and 24m long tied-back retaining wall. This will involve digging up the road and putting in 10 steel bars underneath, anchored to large concrete blocks. This will give the new retaining wall strong anchorage points to protect the hillside from erosion, and the road from potentially slumping or falling away. 

This area will be down to one lane while this critical work is underway. It's expected to start Monday 24 March and be completed in July.

The three slips at Māori Gully ready for work to begin.

Working together to keep everyone moving

Many of our sites are very narrow. Crew have little space to work safely while also supporting road users to keep moving. It’s especially tricky for wide vehicles.

We’ve worked with the NZ Heavy Haulage Association and the freight community to accommodate wide and over-dimension vehicles (including tractors) wherever possible. Most recently we worked together before new sites got underway at State Highway 50 (SH50) Glencoe Gorge, State Highway 2 (SH2) Mohaka Rail Viaduct near Raupunga, and SH5 Māori Gully (see story above).

For example, before starting underslip repairs under the Mohaka Rail Viaduct, contractors were able adjust their plans to use smaller equipment. This adjustment provides more road width for over-dimension vehicles to still pass through.

Huge thanks to our contractors, crew, and the freight community for working together to keep everyone safe while working, and freight moving across the region.

The underslip repair on SH2 at Tangoio Falls Reserve shows just how hard everyone has to work together. The passing truck is less than a metre away from the digger as the crew work down a sheer drop.

SH2 Devil’s Elbow: Keeping erosion at bay in steep conditions

At Devil’s Corner (Project I) we’re building a piled retaining wall to support the road, but we also need to manage water run off to protect from future erosion.

In the photo you can see the meshed spillway (passage for surplus water), which we’re constructing below the new culvert pipe at this site. 

The crew are abseiling to install scour-proof mesh. This will be overlaid with a concrete liner. The area either side will be covered with coconut matting and then hydroseeded (water, seeds and fertiliser mix sprayed on to promote growth). 

Below the meshed spillway is a ‘stilling basin’ with rip rap (large rocks). This will help to break down and spread the energy of water running down the concrete lined channel. 

All of this work will help to minimise future erosion below the soon-to-be installed piled retaining wall.

Working from ropes at Devil’s Corner (Project I) - not for the faint hearted!

During and after

KiwiRail sites on the Palmerston North to Napier line are being repaired at a fast pace with a site at Piripiri (just north of Dannevirke) one of the latest to be completed.

Repairs to the washout at this site included:

• The channel each side of the track being cleared and battered back.
• The culvert pipe underneath the track being replaced.
• Rip rap (rock) being added to help direct stormwater into the culvert.

The round stormwater inlets each side of the track that take water down to the culvert have been topped with steel cage domes.

The rounded dome shape helps prevent debris build-up and blockages, providing a clear path for water to flow into the culvert and away.

Site snapshot

SH2 Hawke’s Bay North

• Repairs at Mohaka Rail Viaduct, the final site in this area, are planned to start 31 March.
• Slip stabilisation at Sandy Creek continues to make good progress and is expected to be finished by early May.
• The road surface where we installed the sheetpiling retaining wall at Sandy Creek will be renewed alongside some road surface renewals as part of NZTA’s annual maintenance programme. These will be done in the next couple of months.
• White Pine Bush underslip repairs (a new site) will likely begin late July.

Devil’s Elbow:

• Project R and H – remain on track to be completed at the end of this month.
• Project J – is 75% complete, with the final stage paused to be tied in with some other work. This is scheduled to be completed in May.
• Project O – will be coming back into construction at night for three weeks starting after Anzac weekend on 28 April.

SH5 Napier to Taupō

• Permanent repairs for the three underslips at Māori Gully are beginning 24 March.
• Tarawera Culvert will begin in the second half of the year, and Captain's Culvert and Eskdale substation shoulder repairs will begin in spring.

SH2, SH50, SH51 Hawke’s Bay South

• At SH50 Glencoe Gorge underslip repairs are going well and on track for July completion. See more here.
• SH51 Tutaekuri (Waitangi) Bridge repairs are planned to start in May.

SH38

• Tarapatiki underslip repairs are planned to start in late March /early April and will take about a week.

Rail progress

This week we are adding the site numbers, so you can see the locations on our interactive map. This map is updated every two weeks. 

Four sites are underway:

• We are repairing the embankment failure below the rail, in Ormondville (A3014).
• Next door to the site above, we are repairing a shallow landslide above the track (A3015).
• In the same cluster between Ormondville and Kopua we are repairing the embankment failure below the rail (A3018).
• South-west of these sites we are repairing the embankment failure below bridge 151 (A3009).

Starting soon:

• Two rock fall scaling sites (A3002 and A3003) in the Manawatū Gorge will be repaired by accessing the sites by hi-rail.
• We will repair the washout to the embankment and undertake drainage repairs just north of Dannevirke (A3007).
• South-west of Makotuku we will repair the washout of the embankment and the shallow landslide above the track. We will also replace the culvert to ensure drainage is maintained. 

Bridge 217 (beside SH51 Tutaekuri Bridge) is programmed to begin repairs in July.

Whakapā mai – Get in touch

• Email us
• Website
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Call us: 0800 80 TREC (0800 80 8732)

If you spot an issue at a work site after hours, call 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 444449).

Sign-up to receive these regular newsletters:

• TREC Pānui (regular newsletter)
• TREC Hawke's Bay regional update (fortnightly)
• TREC Tairāwhiti regional update (fortnightly)

Local road network

Hawke’s Bay councils are responsible for local roading recovery projects.

• Napier City Council
• Hastings District Council
• Wairoa District Council
• Central HB District Council