April 2021

Tēnā koe,

Welcome to the Connecting Tairāwhiti newsletter, which aims to keep the region updated on our capital projects that improve driver experience and safety on State Highways 2 and 35. 

Connecting Tairāwhiti is a programme of capital projects across the northern Hawke's Bay and Tairāwhiti regions, including the Tairāwhiti Roading Package - 35 Resilience, Sh2/Sh35 Passing opportunities and SH2 High-Productivity Motor Vehicles (HPMV) projects, and work at SH2 Waikare Gorge, the SH35 Makokomuka safety realignment, Waioeka Gorge, Tahaenui Bridge and Raupunga. To see how these projects are funded go here. 

The programme will see a number of slow vehicle bays, pull over sites and a series of resilience projects completed over the next two years. These projects will improve safety along the routes and reduce driver frustration due to weather disruption and lack of passing opportunities.

Head to our Connecting Tairāwhiti programme webpage for more information.

Senior Project Manager, Richard Bayley talking to a resident at a 'SH35 Have your say' consultation event

COMMUNITY FEEDBACK DRIVES CONNECTING TAIRĀWHITI PROGRAMME

While physical work is now beginning on our roads, the Connecting Tairāwhiti programme has been sometime in the planning.

In 2019, Waka Kotahi reached out to communities to ask about the issues they were facing on SH2 and SH35, what they thought the priority sites were and the possible solutions.

The top issues people identified were weather events creating disruption on the network, the increasing numbers of large trucks slowing traffic down and a lack of mobile coverage causing dangerous driver behaviour, such as pulling over in dangerous places.

We collected peoples' feedback by each location and this, along with our technical data, informed the business case which established the programme, which was approved in July last year. Waka Kotahi has since been working with engineers and construction companies on designing the projects.

A blessing at Turihaua, north of Gisborne in September, led by Ngāti Porou, marked the start of the project and in December the first shovel broke ground at Matahorua between, Tutira and Putorino.

At the end of 2021, we expect to have completed eight passing projects, including slow vehicle bays and mobile laybys, and a number of resilience sites. We welcome your ongoing feedback about how these projects are meeting the needs of our communities. Please email connectingtairawhiti@nzta.govt.nz with your feedback.  

We’ll be keeping you up-to-date through our channels – this newsletter, our website and Hawke’s Bay/Gisborne Facebook page.

Click on this image of Senior Project Manager, Jacob Laird, to hear more about the Tahaenui Bridge project

LAST SINGLE-LANE BRIDGE BETWEEN NAPIER AND GISBORNE WIDENED

In February, work commenced on widening Tahaenui Bridge near Nuhaka – the last remaining single-lane bridge on State Highway 2 between Gisborne and Napier.

The bridge was reduced to a single-lane in 2018 after safety concerns about the narrow lanes. 

The $2.2 million project is funded through the regional package of the NZ Upgrade Programme.

A blessing was held at the bridge, led by iwi members from nearby Manutai Marae, to clear the way for work to begin. See more about the project in this video.

Quality Roading and Services project supervisor, Davena Morunga has good and bad memories of Tahaenui Bridge.

FROM THE SITE

Waka Kotahi is partnering with a number of local consulting and contracting companies to deliver the Connecting Tairāwhiti programme. Hear directly from Quality Roading Services (QRS) on a project they are working on...

As a young girl Davena Morunga (Rongomaiwahine) can remembering travelling over Tahaenui Bridge belting out The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine in her parents' 1980s Datsun 120Y.

“Our car was yellow and me and my siblings always used to sing that song. I’ve been going over that bridge for years and we’ve all known, all the locals have, to take it carefully because it can be dangerous.”

In April 2018, Tahaenui Bridge was reduced to one lane after a crash between a New Zealand Defence Force LAV and a van.

Now, 35 years since the Datsun days, Davena, is project supervisor on the Tahaenui Bridge widening project with Quality Roading and Services and she couldn’t be happier with the improvements being made.

Davena says the project has been welcomed by locals.

“We’re getting a lot of good feedback from passers-by. It’s nice to be part of this upgrade as we all know that it’s an area where caution is needed.”

WAIOEKA GORGE WORKSHOP

A Waioeka Gorge workshop in January bought partners from both Bay of Plenty and Tairāwhiti regions together to discuss road issues that have critical consequences on peoples' lives and what this means for Te Tairāwhiti.

Participants were keen to help tell the story of how vital the route is as a lifeline for East Coast residents and businesses.

The information and feedback provided is being used to create an ‘Investment Logic Map’ which is a necessary part of our business case process. The result of this business case will be a plan for improving resilience and safety through the Gorge to make it a stronger, more reliable route.

A drilling rig is investigating ground conditions at Busby's Hill

WORK STARTS AT BUSBY'S HILL

Drill rig crews started work last month at Busby’s Hill SH35, just south of Tokomaru Bay, to investigate ground conditions and slip depth at this location.

The site has been problematic for a long time, frequently reducing the road to one lane. These investigations will help verify the design that will be created to stabilise the slip.

A blessing of the site was led by Te Whānau a Ruataupare on 16 March.

The drill rig will move to a number of sites further up the coast for investigative works, as part of the SH35 Resilience project that has $13.5million of funding from the Provincial Growth Fund.

Geotechnical ground investigations will be happening soon at:

• Te Puia Springs SH35 north of Tokomaru Bay
• Kopuaroa Hill SH35 north of Tokomaru Bay
• Goldsmith Decent SH35 north of Ruatoria
• Gudgeons Hill SH35 north of Ruatoria

Planting of native plants on unstable sites above and below SH35 is also starting now the weather has cooled down.

For more on these sites visit our interactive map here.

GOING LOCAL IN TAIRĀWHITI

Connecting Tairāwhiti aims to drive economic growth and attract investment in the region.

This is being achieved by working with Central Government and spreading work from the programme across a number of engineering consultants, contractors and material suppliers.

Here are some of the great companies we are working with:

These signs will indicate where is it is safe to pull over and where there is good reception to check messages

MOBILE LAYBYS TO IMPROVE SAFETY

Phone reception along Tairāwhiti's steep and windy state highways is very patchy and some drivers stop in dangerous places to check messages or make a call.

This unsafe behaviour was one of the issues identified through consultation with communities, so a number of mobile layby sites will be constructed to allow people to stop safely.

As part of the SH2/SH35 Passing Opportunities project, work at two sites, Tarewa and Maraenui, will begin soon with these signs (pictured) to alert drivers to where they can stop.

In other news...

Subscribing to this newsletter

You have received this newsletter because you have either subscribed via our website, you attended a 'SH35 Have Your Say' consultation event and gave us your contact details, or you have been involved in the development of the Connecting Tairāwhiti programme. If you do not wish to receive these newsletters in future, please click unsubscribe at the end of this email.

This newsletter will be sent to subscribers every few months and include updates on active projects, upcoming projects and stories about how the Connecting Tairāwhiti programme is helping to improve access to and across the Tairāwhiti region for locals, visitors and businesses alike.

Please feel free to share this newsletter with your networks and encourage them to subscribe below, so we are all well informed about what’s happening on our regions’ highways.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information or to give feedback email ConnectingTairawhiti@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our Connecting Tairāwhiti website

Visit our Passing Opportunities webpage 

Visit our Resilience webpage

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