TREC Tairāwhiti recovery update

Issue 39

13 February 2026

Tēnā koe

In this edition, we share updates on key TREC sites along State Highway 35 (SH35) including Rototahe, Mangahauini Gorge, Rotokautuku (Waiapu) Bridge and Hikuwai Bridge as well as recovery work soon to start at Uawa River.

You can also read up on progress on the Hakanui Straight project on State Highway 2 (SH2).

Thanks for your continued support and patience as we deliver this important recovery mahi.

With another weather warning in place for this weekend, please stay safe. NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) manages all non-TREC sites on the state highways. If you’d like updates on their weather response work on SH2 through the Waioweka Gorge and SH35, sign-up to get their emails or follow their Facebook page.

Final stages at SH35 Rototahe flood improvements

Work at SH35 Rototahe to improve flood resilience is now in its final stages, with the project on track for completion next week. Once complete, the road here will have been lifted by almost 1 metre (0.8 metres).

In the video below you can take a closer look at what’s happening on-site, including the installation of more culverts (large pipes) designed to move water away from the road more efficiently.

Traffic speeding through our worksites also remains a crew safety concern. TREC Project Manager, Fred Witton, and Kaitiaki lead, Anne McGuire share their thoughts about keeping people safe.

SH2 Hakanui Straight project (Nesbitt’s Dip)

Exciting news - the team is well ahead of schedule and we’ll be able to share our new completion date soon. Hint: it’s looking like it’ll be much earlier than first planned. 

An 850 metre stretch of the highway has been raised by around 3 metres. It took more than 4,000 truckloads of fill - roughly half a million wheelbarrows’ full - to build this section of the highway up and make this happen.

Right now, the team is installing the final flood relief culverts (large pipes) that will help manage water during heavy rain. They're also building a maintenance track, so NZTA crews can easily get to the lower culverts and look after them. 

Shortly we will be laying the next part for the road surface and getting ready for chip sealing - that’s when the new road surface goes on. After that, we’ll move onto line marking, safety barriers and signage.

Traffic management

There will be stop/go traffic management, pilot vehicles and speed restrictions in place at times over the coming weeks. Pilot vehicles are the small work‑site vehicles that guide traffic safely through the construction area when only one lane is open. Please allow for short delays if you’re travelling through.

Culverts ready to be installed at Hakanui Straight to help move water away.

SH35 Mangahauini Gorge recovery works

Solid progress has been made through Mangahauini Gorge. The groundwork is finished, and the team is now focusing on the next stage of construction.

This is some of the great work delivered to date:

• 60% of the rock armour (big rocks) needed to strengthen high‑risk riverbank areas is in place.
• More than 35,000 cubic metres of landslide material has been moved.
• Over 500 of the 1300 hanbars (large concrete blocks) that will form the new roughened channel are in place, with more arriving on-site every week.
• 51 sheer piles (long steel posts) have been driven into the ground to support retaining walls.
• The first of many new culverts (large pipes) and manholes are in place to safely move water under the road, and crews have begun shaping the overland flow path to guide stormwater away from SH35.
• The base of the new road alignment is being built up and is now 50% completed.

Work progressing at the Mangahauini Gorge site.

SH35 Rotokautuku (Waiapu) Bridge scour repairs

Construction work has been temporarily paused since the recent rain events, but the team are getting back into it this week.

The wet weather caused the river to rise quickly, and water went over the cofferdam (temporary wall structure to keep our work site dry) and into our work site.

To help keep the area dry, the team is planning to install 2 temporary earth bunds (barriers) in the riverbed to divert water away. These bunds will be around 1.5 metres high and about 4 metres wide, providing a safe and stable platform for machinery to operate on.

Before the bunds can be built, crews will construct ‘rock rafts’ off the riverbank. These compacted layers of rock create a firm working platform so machinery can safely place the rock and earth needed for the bunds without disturbing the riverbed or becoming bogged in soft ground.

Traffic management remains unchanged at this stage. Once the site is dry again, the team will begin digging a trench and start placing the first dolosse (large concrete blocks) to repair and protect the riverbank.

Full steam ahead at Hikuwai Bridge on SH35

Great progress is being made at the Hikuwai Bridge site, with the bridge substructure (the parts below the bridge deck) now clearly taking shape. Four of the 8 bridge piles (supports) have already been installed – these will eventually hold up the bridge deck.

In December, the team started piling work on the northern side, where ground conditions are shallower and less complex. These piles have been driven down to depths of around 20 metres.

On the southern side, piles are being installed to depths of up to 50 metres, with crews also working around buried tree logs found during construction.

Next on the schedule are the pile caps, which sit on top of the piles. These large concrete platforms tie the piles together and provide a solid base for the bridge deck to be built on. They help the bridge foundations safely carry the weight of the bridge deck. If you look closely below at the picture on the left, the first pile cap is visible on Pier B.

The piling phase of the project is expected to be finished in March, completing the bridge substructure. The next phase will be building the superstructure - the main body of the bridge that sits on top of the piles and carries vehicles across.

(Left to Right) The sub-structure taking shape. Pile casings ready to be driven into the ground.

Finishing touches on slip repair work at Tōrere

Work to repair 2 large slips on SH35 beside Te Kura o Tōrere is nearly complete, with the project on track to wrap up this month.

Alongside the 2 original slips, the crew also repaired 2 additional slips nearby that were triggered by heavy rain in 2025.

The large overslip above the highway has been rebuilt using 2 reinforced retaining walls and new drainage. Beneath the road, the underslip has been stabilised with an anchored shotcrete wall - long steel rods drilled deep under the road to hold the slope in place, then covered with a sprayed concrete layer.

Over the next few weeks, the team will finish pavement works to smooth the road surface, reinstate fencing and complete the last of the drainage.

If you’re travelling through, expect stop/go traffic management and short delays at times while the road surface work is underway.

Top photo: A retaining wall is part of the repairs to the overslip (above the highway). Bottom photos: Underslip repairs (beneath the highway) in progress earlier this month.

Recovery work at Uawa River starting soon

The Uawa community turned out last week to hear from TREC about work starting later this month at the Uawa River on SH35.

Five sites on the eastern side of the river (nearest the state highway) across a 500 metre stretch require repair work following damage caused during Cyclone Gabrielle.

The sites have been eroded and impacted by scour effects of the Uawa River. They require similar erosion protection solutions including rock bag and brush willow placement, gabion basket (rock filled cages) installation and rip rap (large rocks) to strengthen and protect the riverbank from future damage. The roadside will also be repaired.

During the meeting, we also shared updates on the Hikuwai Bridge and Rototahe projects, both located near the Uawa township.

Thanks to those that took the time to join us at the meeting.

An overview of the repair work to be undertaken later this month.

SH2 night closures at Devil’s Elbow, Hawke’s Bay

Asphalting work on SH2 at Devil’s Elbow in Hawke’s Bay is scheduled to take place during night closures from Sunday 22 February to Friday 13 March.

The road, between Waikoau Hill and Aropaoanui Road at Tangoio, will be closed in both directions, from 9pm to 5am Sunday to Thursday nights (five nights each week, reopening 5am Friday). The road will remain open Friday and Saturday nights.

This work was due to begin mid-January but was postponed when SH2 through Waioweka Gorge was fully closed – as it was needed as a detour route to Gisborne. 

Please note, the timing of these works could change at short notice. This work is subject to weather conditions. NZTA will closely monitor the weather this weekend and the situation in Waioweka Gorge.

Please check NZTA's Journey Planner before you travel – especially as information could potentially change at short notice.

State highway snapshot

Below is a snapshot of construction works either underway or coming soon. You can also view completed, current and future work sites on our interactive map.

SH2 underway

• Hakanui Straight project (formerly called Nesbitt’s Dip) – flood improvements.

SH2 coming soon

• Faram’s - counterfort drain installation.

SH35 underway

• Hikuwai Bridge No.1 replacement.
• Mangahauini Gabion Wall – Stage 2 – soil nails, buttress and rip rap at the bottom of the existing gabion wall.
• Mangahauini Gorge – river works, drainage and culvert upgrades, highway repair and rebuild.
• Tōrere – underslip and overslip repairs.
• Rototahe – flood resilience.
• Rotokautuku (Waiapu) Bridge revetment – scour protection.
• Maraehara – underslip repairs.

SH35 coming soon

• Uawa River Scour – underslip repairs.
• Kopuaroa – drainage improvements.
• Kopuaroa – pavement works.
• Kemps Hill (Stage 3) - underslip repair.

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

Local road network

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

Up-to-date information on local road closures.