Wairoa-Napier open by the end of May

PUTTING IN PIERS: Contractors at work on the Waikare Gorge site south of Wairoa, where Cyclone Gabrielle wiped out a bridge. A Bailey bridge will be installed across the river until a permanent structure is designed and built. Bad weather has delayed the work, and Waka Kotahi is now looking at opening the whole SH2 route between Wairoa and Napier “in one go” as good progress is being made at Devil’s Elbow. Picture supplied

HARD work by contractors has seen the two piers that will support the Bailey bridge at Waikare Gorge on State Highway 2 between Wairoa and Napier now completed.

However, it has not been enough to offset a delay to the timeline for opening the bridge, caused by poor weather and supply challenges, said Jaclyn Hankin, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) regional manager of maintenance and operations.

The Bailey bridge will replace the bridge washed away during Cyclone Gabrielle, while a permanent solution is designed and constructed.

It was initially expected to open the Bailey bridge site at the end of this month.

“But it now looks likely to open by the end of May,” Ms Hankin said.

“While it’s taken longer to get to this point than we would have liked due to supply challenges and poor weather, particularly over Easter weekend, what it does mean is that due to good progress made at Devil’s Elbow, we’re now aiming to reopen the entire route between Wairoa and Napier in one go.

“Our contractors are continuing to work incredibly hard on both the Bailey bridge and at Devil’s Elbow, where they are busy securing dropouts, making shoulder and road surface repairs, clearing drains and silt, and removing debris and waste.”

The next step for the Bailey bridge will be constructing and installing the bridge platform, she said.

“Construction on the fabricated steel and timber platform will take place from next Wednesday, after Anzac Day, and is expected to take about 10 days to complete.

“The focus will then turn to securing access on and off the bridge, with aggregate to be brought to the site to safely build up the road at either end,” Ms Hankin said.

“This work is expected to take three to four weeks to complete.

“Restoring access to the communities living alongside this section of SH2 has been, and continues to be, one of our most significant priorities in this recovery.

“We know any delays are really disappointing for these communities — we’re disappointed too – but we also know they understand what we’ve been up against and that they want the work done right,” she said.

“We’re incredibly grateful for their patience so far; it’s not something we take for granted and we’re doing everything we can to get the work done as fast as we can do so, safely.”