Tairāwhiti/Gisborne state highway planned roadworks

Saturday 18 October to Friday 24 October

17 October 2025

Kia ora

Welcome to this week’s issue of the Tairāwhiti/Gisborne state highway planned roadworks update. 

This weekly newsletter keeps you informed about what’s happening across the region’s state highway network – from the summer road renewals to recovery works – so you can plan ahead. 

From Thursday next week, crews will be working at 3 rebuild sites on State Highway 35 between Hicks Bay Hill and Tikitiki. Please plan for delays. When you see roadworkers onsite, travel safely through their work areas, follow all signs and any instructions. You may also want to give them a wave as you pass by!

Dates in this update may change at short notice due to weather or other unforeseen factors. 

Check Journey Planner for the latest travel information and journey times on the state highways.

Ngā mihi nui, 

The NZTA Tairāwhiti team

Information current as at 1:42pm on 17/10/25

Upcoming roadworks

State Highway 35

SH35 Hicks Bay Hill

• Tuesday 7 October to Thursday 30 October, Monday to Friday, 5am-7pm
• Due to a road rebuild, stop/go traffic management and temporary speed restrictions will be in place, with up to 15 minute delays. Facebook and Journey Planner

SH35 south of Maraehara Valley Road, Tikitiki (Gudgeons Hill)

• Tuesday 14 October to Thursday 30 October, Monday to Friday, 5am-7pm
• Due to a road rebuild, stop/go traffic management and temporary speed restrictions will be in place, with up to 15 minute delays. More information.

SH35 Poroporo River Bridge, Tikitiki

• Starting Thursday 23 October to Monday 10 November, Monday to Friday, 5am-7pm
• Due to a road rebuild, stop/go traffic management and temporary speed restrictions will be in place, with up to 15 minute delays. More information.

SH35 between Cemetery Road and north of the lake, Te Puia Springs

• Monday 20 October to Friday 24 October, 7am-5pm
• Due to road repairs, stop/go traffic management and a 30km/hr temporary speed limit will be in place with short delays.

SH35 Mangahauini Gorge

• Ongoing until mid-2026, 24/7
• Due to the recovery project by the Transport Rebuild East Coast (TREC) alliance, stop/go traffic management and temporary speed restrictions will be in place at various locations, with up to 10 minute delays. More information.

SH35 Hikuwai Bridge No.1

• Ongoing, 24/7
• Due to the bridge rebuild project by TREC, temporary speed restrictions are in place. More information

SH35 Rototahe

• Ongoing for 6 months, Monday to Friday, 7am-5pm
• Due to the flood resilience project by TREC, stop/go traffic management and 30km/hr temporary speed limit is in place for northbound traffic, with 5-10 minute delays. More information.

SH35 between Oneroa Road and Wairere Road, Wainui

• Tuesday 28 October to Friday 31 October, 9am-7pm
• Due to drainage installation, stop/go traffic management and temporary speed restrictions will be in place, with up to 5 minute delays.

SH35 various locations

• Ongoing, 6am-6pm
• Due to various roadworks, stop/go traffic management and temporary speed restrictions will be in place, with up to 5 minute delays.

SH35 Tōrere, east of Ōpōtiki (across the Bay of Plenty regional boundary)

• Ongoing, 24/7
• Due to slip repairs by TREC, stop/go traffic management and temporary speed restrictions will be in place, with up to 5 minute delays. More information.

State Highway 2 North

SH2 Otoko Hill

• Ongoing, 24/7
• Due to multiple recovery works by TREC, stop/go traffic management will be in place. More information.

SH2 Hakanui Straight

• Ongoing until mid-2026, 24/7
• Due to the flood resilience project by TREC, stop/go traffic lights and other traffic management is in place, with 5-10 minute delays.
• Automated traffic lights – remember to wait for green: The traffic lights here are fully automated and wirelessly synced to let one direction through at a time. Driving through a red light risks a crash and throws the system out of sync, causing delays while crews reset the timing. Thanks for helping to keep the site safe and traffic flowing. More information.

SH2 various locations

• Ongoing, 6am-6pm
• Due to various roadworks, stop/go traffic management and temporary speed restrictions may be in place, with up to 5 minute delays.

Progress update on the SH35 road rebuilds

A big thanks to everyone following the temporary traffic management at our road rebuild at Hicks Bay Hill. During the day, a pilot vehicle guides drivers through the site at a safe speed while the crews are working. This helps keep both roadworkers and drivers safe.

The yellow machine in the pictures below is a road grader. It breaks up the old road surface, before new materials are added. A milling machine then mixes everything together to build the new road. The grader then comes back to reshape the new road – a key part of rebuilding roads.

The crew is making good progress at Hicks Bay Hill, with sealing planned for the new road late next week (weather permitting). Both this site and the Gudgeons Hill rebuild are on track to finish at the end of the month (including line marking). With the rebuild near Poroporo River Bridge starting next week on Thursday, it means 3 sites will be active at the same time between Hicks Bay and Tikitiki for about a week. Please plan for delays if you’re travelling this part of SH35.

More information

Please be aware that there may be other less disruptive state highway works not listed in this newsletter.

All work listed above is being undertaken on behalf of NZTA, unless otherwise stated. For more information on the Gisborne state highway maintenance programme, contact us at Gisbornemaintenance@nzta.govt.nz, visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/tairawhiti or call 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49).

The Transport Rebuild East Coast (TREC) alliance send a regular newsletter about the recovery work on the state highways in Tairāwhiti. If you’d like to receive these, you can sign up at their website here. If you have any questions about TREC activity, please contact info@trec.nz