TREC Pānui 

East Coast recovery mahi

21 June 2024

Welcome to TREC Pānui

TREC Pānui is a newsletter from the Transport Rebuild East Coast (TREC) Alliance.

This special edition provides an update on funding for the TREC work programme across Te Tairāwhiti (Gisborne) and Te Matau a Māui (Hawke's Bay).

As always please feedback any thoughts or questions to us via info@trec.nz

Recovery work - additional funding

TREC’s focus since it came into effect almost a year ago, has been on Recovery work to restore access to cyclone-damaged state highways throughout Hawke’s Bay and Tairawhiti and get back to two lanes across the network - keeping communities connected and freight moving.

Through the Government’s Budget 2024, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) and TREC have been allocated an additional $250m for Recovery work in a highly contestable and constrained budget.

Actual figures may vary as Recovery works progress, but it shows the approximate scale of funding allocated and gives us more certainty for this next phase of the programme. This funding follows the $384m investment announced in 2023.

This additional investment will allow TREC (alongside local contractors and suppliers) to continue to deliver state highway Recovery work effectively and efficiently for communities across Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti.

Recovery work on state highways is restoring them back to their pre-weather event condition. Minor resilience improvements may be made as modern standards generally provide a better outcome than what was in place beforehand.

To date more than 80 percent of Recovery work has been completed by locally owned and operated contractors, and this approach will continue. We’re committed to seeing the Recovery work delivered by local contractors and suppliers.

Road users will continue to see a significant number of worksites across the region as Recovery work continues. And we look forward to continuing to work with partners, stakeholders and communities to deliver the best outcomes possible for Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti communities.

More information on what the additional funding will be used for is shown below.

Potential Rebuild work – remains unfunded

The Government has decided not to fund any potential Rebuild projects through the 2024 Budget process at this time.

Any potential Rebuild projects will need to seek funding approval through the NZTA’s National Land Transport Fund (NLTF).

We are now in the process of resizing the TREC Alliance to ensure it is aligned with this funding and the Recovery work we will be completing.

We know many of you contributed to our public engagement on potential rebuild solutions at SH2 Devil’s Elbow, SH2/SH5 Eskdale and SH35 Mangahauini Gorge. Thank you for the insights and information you shared - your feedback has been collated. We’ll provide an update on next steps for these business cases soon, through a future Pānui.

Recovery work update

Recovery work – which improves safety and connectivity in the region - includes work such as slip removal, bridge repairs, and culvert repairs and much of it goes on behind the scenes.

TREC’s Hawke’s Bay spokesperson Jacob Laird says, “We’ve made significant progress and are busy working on multiple projects, many of which are out of view such as rock scaling, slope stabilisation, and highway underpinning, which enhances the road's strength in various areas.

“Improvements are being made to help the network better cope with heavy rain and weather events. We’ve seen recently with significant rainfall in the regions, that surface flooding dissipates more quickly in areas where drainage has been improved.

“However, the network remains susceptible to severe weather events. Road maintenance crews monitor the network to ensure safety, and we will continue to work hard restoring and securing the highways during and following these events, while our ongoing recovery work also continues.

“We can’t do any of this work without the continued support of communities and while traffic delays can be frustrating at times we thank people for their patience.”
 
Some of the Tairāwhiti work coming soon includes nine drainage and stabilisation projects on Otoko Hill.

TREC Tairāwhiti spokesperson Richard Bayley says, “Otoko Hill was seriously impacted during Cyclone Gabrielle and these projects are incredibly important for stabilising the hill through this area and improving crucial drainage to minimise the potential for flooding in the future and further strengthening this connection.”

Some of the recent Recovery work in Tairāwhiti

SH2:

Tauwhatinui Bridge Repairs: The Tauwhatinui Bridge, which suffered damage during Cyclone Gabrielle, has undergone extensive repairs. The bridge now meets safety standards and is ready to serve the community.

SH2:

Maraetaha Bridge Scour Repairs: The Maraetaha Bridge, another vital link on SH2, has also received necessary repairs to address scouring issues. Scour is the engineering term for the erosion of soil surrounding a bridge foundation (piers and abutments). These repairs ensure the bridge’s stability and longevity.

Otoko Flats Underslip: An underslip at Otoko Flats has been successfully stabilised, mitigating the risk of further erosion. Underslips happen on the downhill side of the road and road users may not even see it. They don’t always directly affect the road’s surface but pose a risk if not repaired/rebuilt.

SH35:

Mangatuna River Slip: The Mangatuna river underslip has been fully remediated after the river scoured away part of the road. A buttress slope has improved stability of the road and reinstated it to two-lanes. 

SH35:

Urban Asphalting Programme: Crews recently completed the urban asphalting work on State Highway 35 in Gisborne. This included overnight sealing work between the intersection with SH2 at Makaraka through to the intersection with Matthews Road, in Tamarau. Getting this sealing done now has been crucial to ensuring this section of SH35 is able to withstand the daily demands placed on it by road users.

Turitaka Hill Riverbank Wall Strengthening: Work is progressing well and involves strengthening the riverbank wall and using special rock bags to create a strong line of defence to ensure communities stay connected along SH35.

Some of the recent Recovery work in Hawke’s Bay

SH2:

Rock scaling at Devil’s Elbow and Waikoau Hill: Work is underway at Waikoau Hill to safely dislodge loose rocks and boulders that have been identified for removal (this follows weeks of work at Devil's Elbow). This work ensures safe travel for road users and the crews working onsite during the day, but it also protects our roading infrastructure, minimises rock-related disruptions from falling debris, and helps our hillsides better withstand future weather events.  

Please note: Closures are planned on the stretch of SH2 between Whirinaki and Tutira for 3 nights for recovery work from 9pm to 5am each night between Monday 15 July and Thursday 18 July. The last closure ends at 5am on Thursday 18 July. Crews will spend the 3 nights resurfacing the road at Devil’s Elbow, blasting rocks in the area, completing drainage and culvert work at Devil’s Elbow and Tangoio and installing guardrails. 

SH2:

Waikoau Bridge Debris Clearance: Debris from Cyclone Gabrielle has been cleared from the piers and abutments on Waikoau Bridge so it doesn't weaken the structural integrity of the bridge. 

SH5:

Captain’s Culvert: Work at Captain’s Culvert on SH5 is steadily progressing and is expected to be completed by the end of winter.  

Pokopoko Gully: Work has been completed on constructing an asphalt bund (an embankment) to channel stormwater to riprap (large stones/rock) on the valley floor.  The final drainage outlet works are complete.

SH38:

Waikaretaheke River Slips: A series of Waikaretaheke River slips have been repaired after the river scoured away part of the road. Buttress slopes have improved stability of the road, reinstated the road shoulder and restored the road to two lanes. Work has started to repair a slip at Waiau River using the same buttress method.

More information

For more information on the Transport Rebuild East Coast project:

• Email us: info@trec.nz
• Website: www.nzta.govt.nz/trec
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/east-coast-trec
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/WakaKotahiHBG