Tairāwhiti/Gisborne & Eastern Bay of Plenty combined state highway update

January weather event response

9 February 2026

Community update 10

Kia ora koutou,

This is an update on the state highway network in Tairāwhiti and the Eastern Bay of Plenty following the recent weather event.

This update focuses specifically on the latest emergency response information for State Highway 2 (SH2) Waioweka Gorge and State Highway 35 (SH35) between Pōtaka and Tikitiki.

If you're travelling on the state highways, please drive with extreme caution and check Journey Planner or Facebook before you go.

Please note that information in this update may shift at short notice due to weather or other unexpected factors.

Information current as at 4pm Monday 10 February 2026.

Current situation

• SH2 Waioweka Gorge on State Highway 2 between Ōpōtiki (Eastern Bay of Plenty) and Matawai (Tairāwhiti), open for essential public travel under piloted convoy.
• SH35 Ōpōtiki to Pōtaka is open.
• SH35 Pōtaka to Te Araroa remains closed. 
• SH35 Te Araroa to Tikitiki is open.
• The only fully open detour route available is SH2 Gisborne to Napier/SH5 Napier to Taupō. Please take extra care if you’re driving this route.

State Highway 2 Waioweka Gorge

After being closed since mid-January SH2 Waioweka Gorge was opened for public travel this morning with the first of a series of convoys.

The public convoys - for essential travel only - began at 7am today with 28 vehicles travelling east and at 9am,  24 vehicles went west. These guided convoys will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. We will update you on future travel arrangements later this week.

We remind travellers that the road is still a worksite and vulnerable – and drivers should not expect normal road conditions.

People should travel with extreme care, follow all instructions and be mindful of workers on the road

While geotechnical investigations have confirmed that the road is safe to travel under controlled access – and each morning the road is checked before convoys leave – we ask that people only travel if they must.

People must be prepared for the road to close at short notice if weather conditions or risk assessments change.

Our crews are still working at sites throughout the gorge, focusing on clearing debris, improving drainage and opening culverts to reduce the risk of further issues.

Convoy schedule

Convoys run in a single direction, 3 times daily for each direction, across the 37km stretch of Gorge. Pilot vehicles control the convoy speed and each convoy is followed by a second pilot vehicle.

Convoys leave on the scheduled time so anyone planning to travel in the convoy should allow plenty of time to get to the departure point. Road works continue outside the closure areas and may impact travel time. 

Monday 9 convoy schedule:

• Gisborne bound – start point: Historic Tauranga Bridge
  Departing at: 7.00am, 11.00am, 5.00pm
• Ōpōtiki bound – start point: Matawai (Te Wera Road intersection)
  Departing at: 9.00am, 1.00pm, 7.00pm

From Tuesday 10 convoy schedule:

• Gisborne bound – start point: Goldsmith Reserve
  Departing at: 7.00am, 11.00am, 5.00pm
• Ōpōtiki bound – start point: Matawai (Te Wera Road intersection)
  Departing at: 9.00am, 1.00pm, 7.00pm

We are monitoring the sites and convoys closely and later this week we will provide further updates on our traffic plans.

See our latest Facebook post here – feel free to share this.

Convoys are now underway in the SH2 Waioweka Gorge.

State Highway 35 Pōtaka to Tikitiki

SH35 is closed between Pōtaka and Te Araroa.  
 
Further slips have been reported over the weekend and today in the vicinity of the large Punaruku overslip site, south of Hick’s Bay. There is continued ground movement in this area and there is a significant risk of further slips. 
 
There is no access available between Hick’s Bay and Te Araroa. The road is closed, and all members of the public must stay clear of the area. 
 
We have received reports of people ignoring road closure signs and entering the closed areas. This is not acceptable. These closures are in place to protect you, your whānau and our crews. Entering a closed site puts the safety of yourself and those around you at risk. 
 
While our crews have made excellent progress constructing a temporary track and are working towards establishing emergency access through this site, it is not yet safe for public use. From the closure points, the road may look okay but what you can’t see is the extremely fragile slip above this area that includes a range of material – rocks, debris, trees, and boulders - at least one which is estimated to be up to 70 tonnes - that still has potential to come down.  
 
From Tuesday 10 February, rock scaling works are taking place which involves crews releasing rocks and material down the slip slope in a controlled manner. This is essential work that needs to take place to increase the safety of the slip site.  
 
Safety remains our priority. If someone unauthorised accesses our site, crews must stop work, move heavy machinery, and reset the site. This not only greatly increases the safety risk for everyone but impacts our progress and will delay the reopening the community is waiting for. 
 
We know how important this route is and we understand the frustration and disruption this closure is causing for the community. Our team shares the goal of reopening the road as soon as it is safe to do so. We’re working towards reconnecting the community, but we’re not there yet and we need to do this in a safe and controlled way.  
 
With rain forecast also this week, we are closely monitoring the situation and conditions.

Thank you for your patience, understanding, and care while we work to restore safe access as quickly and safely as possible. Please share this message with others.

Photo below is of the Punaruku slip site. Image supplied by Dr Murry Cave/ TEMO.

Pōtaka to Hicks Bay

This section is closed and remains under CDEM control, with limited access.

Waikura underslip: Good progress continued on Monday with crews and diggers onsite working towards establishing safe access through this area. Some ground movement has been reported which we are actively monitoring. At this stage, we don’t have a timeframe to share with you about when this will open.

Hicks Bay to Te Araroa

This section remains closed. There is no public access available and members of the public are reminded to adhere to the road closure in place.

Punaruku slip: This is the largest and most complex slip on SH35, with almost 250,000 cubic metres of material coming down – half the estimated total along SH35 during this event. 

Further slips were reported over the long weekend. This site is extremely fragile and is still moving. There is no public access available through this site. Crews are continuing with stabilisation and temporary track works.

Hicks Bay underslip: Crews have restored a temporary track across the underslip just south of Hicks Bay. We don’t have a timeframe for opening this section yet.

The map below highlights the key recovery sites and current road closure status.

Tikitiki to Te Araroa

The road is open between Tikitiki and Te Araroa. Work continues to repair underslips and minor scouring. There are many sections where temporary stop/go and reduced speeds are in place. 

Although this section is open, the land around the road is fragile. Please take extreme care when driving through this section of SH35. We may need to change temporary traffic management at short notice.

Community travel information

We encourage you to delay travel where possible or allow plenty of extra time if you are taking a convoy through Waioweka Gorge, or the long detour via SH2/SH5 via Hawke’s Bay. There is no detour via SH35. Please note, there are also ongoing maintenance works on our network with stop/go temporary traffic management in place.

A reminder to please take care on SH2 Gisborne to Napier. There are some stop/go traffic management sites and single lane sites along this journey into Hawke’s Bay, including the priority give-way bridge at Waikare and a road rebuild near White Pine Bush – please be patient and allow extra time for the journey.

Report issues on the state highways to 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)

Stay up to date on state highway conditions at NZTA’s Journey Planner.

Ngā mihi nui

Thank you for your patience while we work to restore access.

Kia kaha, stay safe this long weekend and thank you for supporting the teams working hard to reconnect Tairāwhiti and the Eastern Bay of Plenty.