View online
Transport Rebuild East Coast

TREC Hawke's Bay recovery update

18 October 2024

 

Tēnā koe,

In this update we share progress at Devil’s Elbow, information on upcoming night closures, and a timelapse video of the night time Waikare Gorge Bailey bridge deck replacement.

Please join us

Wairoa: We’re inviting the Wairoa community to hear about our recovery work progress in the area and to ask us any questions. Please join us: 5:30 - 6:30pm, Tuesday 29 October, Wairoa Community Centre.

Pūtōrino: We’ll be returning to talk to the Pūtōrino community in November. More details to come.

Supporting the long weekend

Over Hawke’s Bay Anniversary and Labour weekend from midday Thursday 24 October there will be no construction activity at TREC recovery sites across the Hawke’s Bay state highway network, apart from necessary traffic management. This will minimise delays for those travelling on the network over the weekend.
 

 

Turning the corner at Devil’s Elbow SH2

Over the coming month, we’re expecting to complete lower section projects D, K, O, F, P and G, a significant milestone for this damaged section of SH2.  This map below shows our projects and progress on the lower and upper sections.  

The lower section is named lower because it is at the bottom of the hill and includes the ‘elbow’ of Devil’s Elbow (project F on the map). The upper section (projects R, L, H, I and J) is the highest part of the Devil’s Elbow recovery section.

Status of Devil’s Elbow recovery projects as of today.
 

 

Hawke’s Bay Anniversary weekend 

During the long weekend (midday Thursday 24 October - Monday 28 October), we’ll temporarily reopen the lower section of Devil’s Elbow to two lanes to keep holiday traffic moving through the area. We'll be back Tuesday 29 October and we'll then go back to a single lane so we can continue finishing the remaining projects there.

Two lane milestone

In November 2024, when all lower section projects (the current active projects on the map) are complete, we will reopen this section to two lanes. This is a huge milestone.

Thank you for your patience as we work to fix this badly damaged stretch of road. We still have a way to go, but we appreciate all the progress we’ve been able to make with your support.

Also in November, we’ll shift to the projects in the upper section – which will be at one lane as we work there. Projects R, H and J are expected to be completed by Easter 2025, while Project I – the final and most complex Devil’s Elbow project - is expected to take about 12-18 months.

Devil's Corner damage, March 2023. This is Project I.
 

 

Upcoming night closures – SH2

As part of preparations to get started on Project I at Devil’s Corner, we’re closing SH2 for five nights. There is no detour:

  • Sunday 3 to Thursday 7 November
  • 9pm to 5am each night 
  • the road will reopen at 5am Friday 8 November. 

We’ll use that time to create more space for road users, crew and machinery in readiness for the main work to begin. We’ll be widening the single lane, putting down new pavement, drainage, new barriers, and clearing slopes above the road to help everyone travelling and working there to stay safe. More information in our Facebook post. 

In response to community feedback earlier in the year we have scheduled the closures overnight where possible to minimise impact on road users. These closures also help us complete the work significantly faster than doing the same work with stop/go one lanes.
 

 

WATCH: SH2 Waikare Gorge Bailey bridge deck replacement

A section of SH2 was closed for two nights late last month while the team replaced the Waikare Bailey bridge decking. 

In the timelapse video below, you can see a crane swapping out the old narrow timber decking with NiuDeck panels, a heavy plywood decking system. These new panels have improved traction for vehicles travelling across the bridge.
 

 

SH2 Kaiwaka Road safety improvements

Last week, we started making layout improvements at three intersections on SH2 at the southern end of Devil’s Elbow: Kaiwaka, Tangoio Settlement and Aropaoanui Roads.

The increased number of vehicles turning at Kaiwaka Road poses a safety risk to travellers on this section of SH2. Improvements include linemarking, new left-hand lanes, median strips and partial reinstatement of the slow vehicle bays. 

This work will be completed soon to make everyone’s journey safer.
 

 

Before and after

We have completed the scour repair at SH50 Mangamate Bridge.
 

 

Highway Highlights

SH2 Hawke’s Bay North

  • We have started the Tangoio Falls Reserve underslip repair this week.
  • We are currently repairing Mōhaka slip, Waikoau Hill slip and White Pine Bush underslip.
  • We have completed White Pine Bush North retaining wall.

SH38 Wairoa to Waikaremoana

  • We have the finished large slip repair near Piripaua.
  • We started Kaitawa underslip and Mangakino Bridge repairs this week under stop/go. These are on track to be complete by the beginning of November. Kaitawa underslip will become a priority give way when the works are complete due to the narrow width of the road.  
  • When the Kaitawa underslip is finished we will begin work on the Tarapatiki underslip in November.

SH5 Napier to Taupō

  • Please see our latest SH5 update which outlines our completed, in progress and future work. 
  • The environmental team has safely relocated marine life for the North of Hill Road (Esk Valley) culvert repairs, so work in the awa can commence. 
  • We start Dillion’s Hill culvert repairs at the end of October.
  • The onsite subcontractors begin the Tarawera Culvert and the three underslip repairs at Māori Gully in the new year.

SH2, SH50, SH51 Hawke’s Bay South

  • We have completed repairs at SH50 Mangamate Stream Bridge.
  • We will complete the SH50 Glencoe recovery repairs late-October, with the Glencoe Gorge underslip repairs starting early 2025. 
  • The subcontractor has begun repairs at SH50 Ben Lomond Bridge (near Salisbury Road) by creating a temporary access road for heavy machinery.
  • We will begin SH50 Chestermans Bridge (Ongaonga) repairs at the end of October and SH50 Ashcott Bridge (Ashley Clinton) mid-November.
 

 

Your questions answered

Why are there lots of contractors working on the same project?

Most of our projects need a whole range of different specialty contractors. Because of this, we split the work into different trade packages such as drainage, earthworks, soil anchoring and shotcrete, concrete work, pavement construction, surfacing, line marking, and barrier installation, among others. 

That’s why you’ll see a lot of different contractors on the same job. It’s similar to building where plumbers and electricians do their own specialist part of the build.

For longer term projects we sometimes also start with an ‘early works’ package to get the project going while the tender to procure the main work contractor and materials is underway. Early works include activities like stripping material from the site and groundwork preparation.
 

 

Whakapā mai – Get in touch

If you spot an issue at a work site after hours, call 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 444449).

Sign-up to receive these regular newsletters:

Local road network
Hawke’s Bay councils are responsible for local roading recovery projects.
 

  About   Careers   Privacy
 
Twitter YouTube LinkedIn Facebook

You received this message because you signed up to receive updates on the Transport Rebuild East Coast project on our website or provided your details as part of our public engagement activities. If you no longer wish to receive these updates, please feel free to unsubscribe.

Unsubscribe  |  Subscribe to updates

© 2024 Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, all rights reserved
Te Kāwanatanga o Aotearoa New Zealand Government