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TREC Hawke's Bay recovery update |
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20 September 2024 |
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Tēnā koe, In this fortnight’s update we get a behind the scenes look at the Glencoe Gorge repair on SH50, Piripaua slip repair on SH38, and some great before and during/after progress photos. There’s also a quick-fire update of what’s recently been completed, what’s in construction and what’s coming up. In 'Your questions answered' we look at Devil’s Elbow and the ins and outs of traffic management. |
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Glencoe culvert repair and pavement excavation Repairs to Glencoe Gorge on SH50Recovery works on State Highway 50 are well underway with Mangamate Bridge planned to be complete by the end of this month and another site at Glencoe Gorge progressing well. At Glencoe Gorge, heavy rain caused significant damage to the culvert and the retaining walls. Water has been entering the culvert foundation, increasing the potential of erosion and the retaining walls have buckled over from cracks caused by the heavy rain. The damaged culvert is being repaired and strengthened by raising it to the road level. This will improve drainage and better manage water surface runoff. Crews are excavating the roadside to remove and replace the existing retaining walls as you can see in this photo. They will then rebuild the road above and install a new guardrail. These works will strengthen the site to help keep the road safe and open during heavy weather events. This project will be ongoing until mid-October. Work on the Glencoe Gorge underslip, near this site, will begin early 2025. |
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SH38 Piripaua slip repairWork is progressing well to repair a large slip on SH38 near Piripaua Power Station. Here the local contractor team have built the toe (base) of the buttress (a type of retaining wall). After the old slip material was removed, geofabric cloth (the white sheets in the photo) were installed against the cleared slope. Geofabric cloth prevents materials from mixing while allowing water to pass through it without washing the materials away. Roadworkers then use aggregate (a mixture of different types and sizes of crushed rocks) to build the bank back, stabilise the ground and restore the road to two lanes. This is the same repair method used at other underslips along SH38.
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Making progress at Devil's ElbowDevil’s Elbow is an extremely hilly and winding section of State Highway 2 in Hawke’s Bay that was massively damaged during Cyclone Gabrielle. Blocked and damaged stormwater culverts and drains, overslips and underslips make it a complex site consisting of more than 11 recovery projects. Check out our video to find out more about the extensive repair work underway. |
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Before, during, and afterSH5 underslip at Glengarry (before and during recovery works)
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SH2 Waikoau Hill South (before and during recovery works)
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SH2 White Pine Bush North (before and during recovery works)
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SH2 Devil's Elbow Project K (before and during recovery works)
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Highway HighlightsSH2 Devil’s Elbow
SH2 Hawke’s Bay North
SH38 Wairoa to Waikaremoana
SH5 Napier to Taupō
SH2, SH50, SH51 Hawke’s Bay South
The photo below shows a view of Project F, the culvert at Devil’s Elbow, that you can’t see from the road. |
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Plan your travel - upcoming closuresCentral Hawke’s Bay District Council is celebrating Clean Up Week with Keep New Zealand Beautiful. SH2 Hawke’s Bay south, between Tapairu Road, Waipawa and Lindsay Road, Waipukurau will be closed on Sunday 22 September between 9am-1pm. There is a detour which is suitable for all vehicles including HPMV. See the Facebook post here and the traffic bulletin here. Essential maintenance work on the Waikare Gorge Bailey bridge on SH2 Hawke’s Bay north, is planned for Monday 30 September and Tuesday 1 October, from 9pm to 5am. There is no detour so please plan ahead and delay travel. See the Facebook post here and the traffic bulletin here. Follow the NZTA HB/Gisborne Facebook page for details on these closures. |
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Your questions answeredWhen is the work at Devil’s Elbow expected to be completed? The lower (northern) traffic light section covers six projects (D, K, O, F, P and G) that are all due for completion in Spring. The upper (southern) traffic light section covers five projects (R, H, I, and J). Most of these sites we expect will be completed around Easter 2025. Project I, Devil’s Corner, is going through the detailed design phase and we expect to complete this project in early 2026. It feels like I sit at the traffic lights for ages at Devil’s Elbow, can you shorten the timers? The timers are set for seven minutes, which is based on historical traffic data (the time that has been registered that it takes for some vehicles to get through). They run on the same cycle all night. We need to ensure that all vehicles can get through in the time allocated when these sites are not manned. The night signals are switched over to manually operated signals each morning before peak travel periods. We can then moderate the traffic queues based on what traffic is there and what works are happening in the area. The signals are set on a timer and are not ‘vehicle activated’ meaning they automatically turn green if no vehicles are waiting at the other side. This is because vehicle activated signals need a line of sight between each signal which we don’t have at these locations. At Devil’s Elbow there are two sections of traffic lights. Sometimes these get joined to form a single traffic management zone between peak travel periods when there are lower traffic volumes, and we don’t get a long queue. This makes the work happening in this area more efficient, but it does mean any traffic waiting will wait for a longer period. As projects are completed the traffic management layout will be revised to reduce the impact on the community.
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Whakapā mai – Get in touchIf 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 |
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