Connecting Tairāwhiti

Traffic bulletin

8 March 2023

Above: Flooding State Highway 38 on Tuesday 28 February

State Highway update for Wairoa schools

Many roads and highways were severely damaged after Cyclone Gabrielle, with closures still in place today.

We understand this is frustrating for school children and their whānau, and has big consequences for children’s education and routines as well as their caregivers’ ability to work.

Following the cyclone our immediate priority was clearing the roads and gaining at least single lane access for emergency vehicles and residents.

QRS has responded quickly, clearing what roads they can. Because of the difficulty getting Napier Waka Kotahi staff to Wairoa, QRS has also been providing safety assessments and feedback to us on whether the road is safe to drive.

Our bridges have been inspected, and now that the roads are clear, we need to have thorough geotechnical analysis done. This ensures there are no stability risks to other structures like retaining walls, or to existing slip sites or any potential new slips.

While the road may be clear, the ground below the road and the hillsides above are very vulnerable, and with ongoing rain there is a high chance for further slips.

We need to be 100 percent sure that our highways are safe to all people, especially children travelling on school buses.

Recent and upcoming road openings

On Monday 6 March, geotechnical experts assessed State Highway 2 Wairoa – Raupunga and today that section of the road is now open to all vehicles.

SH38 Wairoa to Frasertown is also open.

Geotech assessments will assess the rest of SH38 and Wairoa to Putorino over this week and if their reports are satisfactory we hope to open those routes by the end of this week.

We thank you for your patience and understanding during this very difficult time and are working our best to restore what normality we can. You can visit our Journey Planner at journeys.nzta.govt.nz for real-time information about the status of state highways.

We will continue to provide updates on progress and if you have any questions, please get in touch with our Hawke’s Bay Senior Network Manager Kyle Russell on 06 974 5539 or kyle.russell@nzta.govt.nz.