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

January weather event response

10 February 2026

Community update 11

Kia ora koutou,

This is an update on the state highway network in Tairāwhiti and the Eastern Bay of Plenty following the recent weather event.

This update focuses specifically on the latest emergency response information for State Highway 2 (SH2) Waioweka Gorge and State Highway 35 (SH35) between Pōtaka and Tikitiki.

If you're travelling on the state highways, please drive with extreme caution and check Journey Planner or Facebook before you go.

Please note that information in this update may shift at short notice due to weather or other unexpected factors.

Information current as at 6pm Tuesday 10 February 2026.

Current situation

• SH2 Waioweka Gorge on State Highway 2 between Ōpōtiki (Eastern Bay of Plenty) and Matawai (Tairāwhiti), open for essential public travel under piloted convoy.
• SH35 Ōpōtiki to Pōtaka is open.
• SH35 Pōtaka to Te Araroa remains closed. 
• SH35 Te Araroa to Tikitiki is open.
• The only fully open detour route available is SH2 Gisborne to Napier/SH5 Napier to Taupō. Please take extra care if you’re driving this route.

State Highway 2 Waioweka Gorge update

Convoys for essential travel began on Monday with good numbers in all convoys – a total 163 vehicles travelled through yesterday. 

The starting point for Gisborne-bound traffic moved this morning (see map above) and is now closer to the Goldsmith site. 

These guided convoys will continue through to the weekend, however, people must be prepared for the road to close at short notice if weather conditions or risk assessments change. Crews are continuing to monitor the sites and convoys closely.

Convoy information

Convoys are for essential travel only and will run under piloted convoy conditions. They operate in a single direction, 3 times daily for each direction, across a 33km stretch of Gorge. Pilot vehicles control the convoy speed.

Locations and departure times may change at short notice. See our latest Facebook post here – feel free to share this.

Gisborne bound

• Start point (from Tuesday 10 February): Goldsmith Reserve (This has changed from the previous meeting location.)
• Departing at: 7.00am, 11.00am, 5.00pm

Ōpōtiki bound

• Start point: Matawai (Te Wera Road intersection)
• Departing at: 9.00am, 1.00pm, 7.00pm

We remind travellers that the road is still a worksite and vulnerable – and drivers should not expect normal road conditions. 

People should travel with extreme care, follow all instructions and be mindful of workers on the road. 

While geotechnical investigations have confirmed that the road is safe to travel under controlled access – we ask that people only travel if they must. 

Our crews are still working at sites throughout the gorge, focusing on clearing debris, improving drainage and opening culverts to reduce the risk of further issues. Just 3 culverts remain to be cleared/replaced with 98 percent cleared. Crews continue clearing side drains, debris and moving the stockpiles. 

Today our team was on site assessing the site for the next phase of recovery works. Once plans are confirmed, there will be months of recovery works, and the Gorge will remain an active worksite for some time.

State Highway 35 Pōtaka to Tikitiki

SH35 is closed between Pōtaka and Te Araroa.  
 
The ground continues to move in the vicinity of the large Punaruku overslip site, south of Hick’s Bay.  There is an extremely fragile slip above this area that includes rocks, debris, trees, and boulders, at least one which is up to 70 tonnes, that still has potential to come down. 

Depending on the weather our rock scaling crews are gearing up to get started in the next few days.  Rock scaling involves crews releasing rocks and material down the slip slope in a controlled way. This work is vital to make the site safe.
 

With rain forecast also this week, we are closely monitoring the situation and conditions.e situation and conditions.

Thank you for your patience, understanding, and care while we work to restore safe access as quickly and safely as possible. Please share this message with others.

Pōtaka to Hicks Bay

This section is closed and remains under CDEM control, with limited access for essential services and residents only.

Waikura underslip: Good progress continues but as the ground is saturated we are monitoring some continued movement. We don’t have a timeframe to share with you about when this will open.

Hicks Bay to Te Araroa

This section remains closed. There is no public access available and members of the public are reminded to adhere to the road closure in place.

Punaruku slip: This is the largest and most complex slip on SH35, with almost 250,000 cubic metres of material coming down – half the estimated total along SH35 during this event.
This site is extremely fragile and is still moving. There is no public access available through this site.
Crews are continuing with stabilisation and temporary track works.

Hicks Bay underslip: Crews have restored a temporary track across the underslip just south of Hicks Bay. We don’t have a timeframe for opening this section yet

The map (updated today, Tuesday 10 Feb) above highlights the key recovery sites.

Tikitiki to Te Araroa

The road is open between Tikitiki and Te Araroa. Work continues to repair underslips and minor scouring. There are many sections where temporary stop/go and reduced speeds are in place. 

Although this section is open, the land around the road is fragile. Please take extreme care when driving through this section of SH35. We may need to change temporary traffic management at short notice.

Tikitiki to Te Araroa

The road is open between Tikitiki and Te Araroa.

Although this section is open, the land around the road is fragile. Please take extreme care when driving through this section of SH35.  Crews are working on the state highway to repair underslips and clearing drains and we may need to change temporary traffic management at short notice.

The crew at Hospital Hill is building a bund on the southbound lane in anticipation of further rainfall

Community travel information

We encourage you to delay travel where possible or allow plenty of extra time if you are taking a convoy through Waioweka Gorge, or the long 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 and a road rebuild near White Pine Bush – 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.