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TREC Tairāwhiti recovery update

Issue 37

15 January 2026

Tēnā koe

Happy New Year greetings to you.

As we begin 2026, work is ramping up across our recovery projects.

The recent rain event caused minor damage to some locations, but overall, our sites have held up well and most crews are straight back into construction work.

At our State Highway 35 (SH35) Mangahauini Gorge, Rotokautuku (Waiapu) Bridge, and Rototahe sites, crews have had a few days of post-weather event clean-up work to do, however most recovery work is now back underway. Read more about those sites below.

Around 90% of TREC’s recovery work in Tairāwhiti is now complete, with a busy 6 months ahead as crews aim to finish most of the remaining repairs by mid-2026.

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


	Expect short delays as work continues Drivers should expect stop/go traffic management and reduced speed limits at various locations on both State Highway 2 (SH2) and SH35 while work continues. At some sites, delays of 5–10 minutes are possible. The works listed below are weather dependent and details may change at short notice. Please allow extra time for travel around the region and use the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi Journey Planner to check for updated travel information. Reminder: Please drive with care through roadworks sites Many of the people working on TREC sites are locals, out in all weather and doing their best to keep traffic moving and everyone safe while this mahi is underway. Thanks for sticking to the temporary speed limits and following their instructions as you travel through our sites.


	SH35 Mangahauini Gorge recovery works The team has been busy with around 3 days of clean-up work from the early January rain event including clearing silt and culverts (large pipes). They’re making good progress and are back into construction this week. Work will be underway at various locations through the gorge until mid-2026, with stop/go controls and temporary speed limits in place. Mangahauini Gorge before the team got started on the clean up.


	SH35 Rototahe flood resilience During the rain event, the partially completed works at the Rototahe flood resilience site performed as expected for this stage of construction. Key drainage upgrades completed in December are already handling significantly more water than the old system and early assessments show water levels stayed below the final height the highway will be raised to once completed. At the time of the rain event, the road had reached only about half of its planned lift. Once fully raised, it's expected it would have remained open under similar weather conditions. The project’s drainage and culvert (large pipe) systems are performing as designed and remain on track to deliver a safer, more flood-resilient route for the community. A one-way stop/go is in place between 6am and 6pm, with 2 lanes open outside these hours. The Rototahe site after the flood water had subsided.


	SH35 Rotokautuku (Waiapu) Bridge scour repairs The team have a few days of clean-up to work through this week before getting back into construction. Around 1 metre of silt needs to be cleared from the work area, and the team is also assessing options for managing an old redundant bridge pier within the site. The temporary cofferdam installed to keep the river out of the work area also needs to be repaired in places. The team will need to pump the work area dry again, and further de-fishing may be required to safely relocate any fish before work continues. Once this is complete, the crew will start digging a trench so they can begin laying the first dolosse (large concrete block) to repair the riverbank. Crews will be on site between 6am and 6pm, with a temporary 30km/h speed limit on the bridge. Work is expected to be complete by April. Around 1 metre of silt has to be removed from the cofferdam before crews working near the SH35 Rotokautuku (Waiapu) Bridge can continue construction.


	Snapshot of traffic management on other SH35 sites SH35 Hikuwai Bridge replacement Piling work is back underway with construction expected to continue until late 2026. A 30km/h temporary speed limit is in place, as well as a 10km/h speed limit over the Bailey bridge. SH35 Tōrere slip repairs Work at this site continues, with completion expected in March 2026. A priority give-way traffic management system is currently in place. Read more information in our latest Facebook post. SH35 Maraehara underslip repairs (starting soon) Repairs to the northbound road shoulder will start at this site from next week. Our crews will excavate a 40 metre section of the highway and fill it with metal and counterfort drainage to reduce movement in the road. Work is expected to take approximately 5 weeks with a one-way traffic management system in place until project completion. Work underway on the Tōrere overslip.


	SH2 Hakanui flood resilience project The TREC team is lifting an 850 metre stretch of SH2 at our Hakanui Straight project (Nesbitt’s Dip) to improve flood resilience north of Gisborne. This part of the highway has been prone to flooding and closures during heavy rain, affecting local communities and freight. Around two thirds of the section has now been built up to its new 3 metre height, visible in the background of this photo. The project also includes new drainage, large culverts and a stream realignment. Weather permitting, traffic will be shifted onto the raised section this week. Drivers are asked to take extra care while travelling through the site. Once traffic is on the newly raised section, crews will continue building up the remaining areas, install new flood relief pipes to prevent water backing up against the raised road, and begin pavement and surfacing works. There will be more traffic changes over the coming months so this mahi can be completed. The project is tracking ahead of schedule, with an expected completion date to be shared soon. A view of the height difference between the current road (with car) and new road elevation (with roller).


	Reminder: SH2 overnight full road closures (Devil's Elbow, Hawke’s Bay) A reminder that we’ll be closing a section of SH2 overnight at Devil’s Elbow in Hawke’s Bay later this month to rebuild 4.5km of the road surface with asphalt. Over the holidays the road was back to 2 lanes for the first time since Cyclone Gabrielle but this resurfacing work is needed to create a smoother drive over the numerous underslip repairs in the area. There are no viable detours so please plan your travel around the closure times. From Sunday 18 January to Thursday 5 February SH2 between Waikoau Hill and Aropaoanui Road at Tangoio will be closed overnight in both directions (5 nights each week). Closure times are 9pm to 5am Sunday to Thursday nights. We’ll reopen the road each morning at 5am, and it’ll be open Friday and Saturday nights. These works are weather dependent. Contingency nights are Sunday 8 February midnight (12am) to 5am on Monday, and then Monday 9 to Friday 13 February (four nights), 9pm to 5am each night. The new stretch of asphalt will be the final Devil’s Elbow recovery project after 2 years of Cyclone Gabrielle recovery work in the area.