Cracks led to high-priority action for Hawke's Bay's Esk Bridge

Esk River Bridge on State Highway 2, just north of its State Highway 5 intersection. Speed restrictions will be in place from Monday as the 81-year-old bridge's future is assessed. Photo / Paul Taylor

Surprises about the state of Hawke's Bay's highways network are nothing new for Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst and regional transport committee chairman Martin Williams who have both hit out again after revelations of issues with a crucial bridge on the Napier-Wairoa road.

The latest bombshell was a Wednesday afternoon announcement from national highways management agency that speed restrictions will apply on the ageing State Highway 2 Esk River Bridge to limit the risk of deterioration pending further assessment and likely restrengthening.

In a follow-up statement to Hawke's Bay Today the agency said replacement of the bridge was not ruled out, but decisions will be made on "high-priority" work now being done, stemming from the discovery of cracks earlier this year.

An agency spokesperson said in-depth inspection was done every six years, with general inspections every two years.

In-depth assessment in February revealed "a number" of cracks on the spans, triggering the need to undertake additional assessments and material testing.

The agency said the timeframe for the restrictions – a 30km/h speed limit from Monday and possible weight limits and single-laning - will depend on how quickly the strengthening work can completed.

"Waka Kotahi is fast-tracking the design and we have made this repair work a high priority in our work programme," it said.

Currently replacing of the bridge is unlikely, with strengthening work possibly sufficient to extend the life span of the structure, but decisions will depend on the outcome of the additional assessments and testing currently under way.

Any closure of the 81-year-old bridge could lead to major problems for both Napier Port and Panpac's Whirinaki Mill, with no suitable alternative heavy transport route other than inland towards Taupo.

The nearest alternative for smaller vehicles would be via SH5, and Waipunga and Kaiwaka Roads, stretching a 20-30-minute drive between the bridge and the Devil's Elbow to at least an hour.

Williams said national highways management Waka Kotahi NZTA's announcement of a 30km/h speed limit on the bridge from Monday was a surprise, and, as with SH5 Napier-Taupo, issues highlighted a lack of investment in the future of provincial links.

He had been unaware of the emerging issue until told of the late-Wednesday bulletin.

Hazlehurst, who will be re-elected unopposed at the October local body elections, vented her frustration in an opinion piece for Hawke's Bay Today, saying Waka Kotahi itself seemed surprised. It said the bridge, which was built to replace a bridge washed out to sea in the 1938 flood, was not designed to carry modern traffic, especially the number and weight of trucks and other heavy vehicles.

The agency hadn't given any timeframe, and Hazlehurst said that it "isn't likely to be fast".

"When the Government brought in new restrictions around vehicle weights and dimensions for bridges in 2017, the Hastings District Council committed $9.9 million over seven years to strengthen 22 bridges on our roading network in our 2018-28 Long-Term Plan to ensure our bridges met the new specifications," she said.

It did so because it knew the bridges were on key routes needed to meet the district's needs and by the end of last year had strengthened seven bridges, replaced one, and had many others in various phases of evaluations, investigations, or designs for upgrades.

"We took ownership of what was required on our network," she said. "It is disappointing that yet again we don't seem to see the same commitment from Waka Kotahi on the network they are responsible for."

Pan Pac Forest Products managing director Tony Clifford said the company is in regular communication with Waka Kotahi regarding plans for the bridge.

"The temporary speed restriction to 30km/h will not have any material impact on our business," he said.

Meanwhile, Waka Kotahi also advised drivers to plan ahead for overnight maintenance in the Hawke's Bay Expressway, SH2 Airport to Longlands Road, every second Sunday night starting from this Sunday, August 28.

The closure for this Sunday is between York Rd and Maraekakaho Rd. Drivers will be detoured via York Rd and Maraekakaho Rd in both directions.

Contractors will start work at 7pm each night and finish at 5am the next morning to keep the impact on traffic flow to a minimum.

Work will involve wire rope barrier repairs, guard rail repairs, pavement repairs, surfacing repairs, road sweeping, line marking, bridge repairs, and vegetation control and removal.