TREC Tairāwhiti recovery update

Issue 17

21 March 2025

Tēnā koe

In this edition we share updates about progress at Opape in the eastern Bay of Plenty, Otoko Hill tree felling, and recently completed work through Awatere Gully.

With TREC and local contractors working on 14 sites across the network this month, check out the state highway snapshot below for more information on what’s underway and still to come.

Thanks again for your ongoing patience as we carry out this important mahi.

Strengthening the highway at SH35 Opape

Good progress is being made on State Highway 35 (SH35) near Opape in the eastern Bay of Plenty, where crews from Hick’s Bay Drainage are repairing a five-metre deep underslip below the road and strengthening the highway.

The work, which includes building gabion walls, improving drainage, and reinforcing the ground, is on track to finish late April. This section of SH35 is currently down to one lane to help keep crew and road users safe.

• During work hours (Monday–Friday, 6am–6pm): stop/go traffic management is in place.
• Outside work hours: a priority give-way system operates, just like using a one-lane bridge.

Please drive carefully, follow all signs, and look out for our crews — they're local, your friends and whānau. Let’s all make sure they make it home safe each night.

Gabion baskets to create a gabion wall below the road at Opape.

Tree removal - reducing weather-related risk on SH2 Otoko Hill

Crews are busy at three recovery sites on State Highway 2 (SH2) Otoko Hill. Tree removal is now underway as part of this work between Hihiroroa Road and Fitzgerald Road.

Tree removal is an essential part of our recovery work on Otoko Hill, as some trees identified pose hazards during high winds and weather events.

Ecology, environmental and cultural assessments are completed first to check for and protect any taonga found.

This tree removal work is expected to take approximately four weeks to complete. It’s being done under stop-stop traffic management with delays of up to 15 minutes expected. This wait time could be longer if a tree is being felled at that time – please build extra time into your travel.

Pilot vehicles are being used to escort road users through the site safely. Thanks for your patience so we can continue to complete recovery work in this area.

An arborist inspecting a pine tree on the Tairāwhiti network.

Finishing repairs at SH35 Awatere Gully

Repairs at three underslip sites at Awatere Gully on SH35 are now complete.

The last of the three sites, completed last month, involved repairing the northbound road shoulder, and constructing a gabion basket wall to fill and strengthen the underslip and bring it back up to road level.

The culvert pipe you can see in the photo coming through the gabion baskets is part of the culvert outlet extension. It carries water away from the road by moving it from one side to discharge it on the other side.

Gabion baskets are being used on a number of recovery sites to prevent erosion and retain a slope.

Site offices for smarter working

Iwi partners Te-Aitanga-A-Mahaki blessed the new TREC Otoko Hill site office last week. This is one of a number of site offices being set up along SH35 and SH2 close to where we’re working to provide a base for our people to stay connected.

With our sites spread out along more than 800kms of roading network, these offices reduce travel distances and time for the crew (which is good for fatigue management) while helping them work more closely together to get the mahi done.

Te-Aitanga-A-Mahaki bless the new Otoko Hill site office alongside TREC staff.

State highway snapshot

Below is a snapshot of construction works either underway or coming soon. You can also view sites on our interactive map.

Here are some of the construction terms we use:

• Buttress – supporting structure
• Counterfort drain – drain that improves slope stability by controlling groundwater
• Dolosse - interlocking concrete blocks
• Gabion wall - baskets filled with rocks
• MSE - (Mechanically Stabilised Earth) – a retaining wall construction technique used to stabilise slopes
• Rip rap - large rocks
• Rock revetment – protection
• Scour - erosion
• Shotcrete – sprayed liquid concrete
• Soil anchors/soil nails – a device used to hold, restrain and support structures
• Willow wall – using willows as ‘living walls’ to stabilise slips

SH2 underway

• Otoko Hill Slip #2 (site G) - hill stabilisation using soil anchors, shotcrete, and rip rap
• Allen’s Existing Wall (site J) – reinstate underslip under existing wall using soil anchors and shotcrete
• Otoko Hill – tree removal and major drainage to stabilise slopes

SH2 coming soon

• Rakauroa – reinstate underslip using soil anchors and shotcrete
• Matawai Road – willow wall to stabilise slip

SH35 underway

• Makatote dropout #2 – buttress support and rip rap to prevent future river erosion
• Makatote dropout #3 – reinstating state highway to two lanes, buttress support and rip rap to prevent future river erosion
• Kopuaroa Stream Bridge – scour protection beneath bridge using soil nails and shotcrete
• Mangahauini Gorge early investigations - drilling for soil samples to help with the design of this major project
• Mangahauini Gorge early works - river training and sheet pile wall strengthening
• Mangahauini Gabion Wall – Stage 2 – soil nails, buttress and rip rap at the bottom of the existing gabion wall
• Kopuaroa Slip 1 – reinstate SH35 to two lanes by installing a soil anchor and shotcrete wall
• Kopuaroa Slip 2 – build a 250m long buttress to support SH35 and provide additional drainage
• Opape underslip – buttress with gabion wall

SH35 coming soon

• Kemps Hill subsidence – buttress repair using a willow wall. Three faults to be repaired to reinstate state highway to two lanes
• Te Kura o Torere – underslip and overslip repairs
• D9 Gully – buttress wall with MSE. Two faults to be repaired to reinstate highway to two lanes
• Waiapu revetment – repair the scour at the south end of the bridge and construct a major revetment with dolosse for futureproofing
• Hikuwai Bridge No.1 Replacement – enabling works
• Rotokautuku (Waiapu) Bridge repairs – strengthening works

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).

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

Local road network

Gisborne District Council is responsible for local roading recovery projects. More information.

Up-to-date information on local road closures.