New bridge planned in Waikare Gorge bypass on SH2

Consent has been lodged for the Waikare Gorge realignment project to bypass 6km of the existing State Highway 2, including the slips-and-rockfall-prone Waikare Gorge, between Wairoa and Napier.

The realignment project, including 3.9km of new road and a 160-metre-long arch bridge, at 60m above the Waikare River and thus one of the highest highway bridges in New Zealand, has been in the planning for several years.

Consultation with the Pūtōrino community and other groups was started in late 2019 and $5 million of Provincial Growth funding was announced and a business case study done in May 2020. Details of the project were announced in August 2021.

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But a bridge just north of Pūtōrino, set to disappear as part of the project, was destroyed in Cyclone Gabrielle and has been replaced by a temporary Bailey bridge, which enabled the badly damaged highway to be reopened on May 14.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency regional manager of infrastructure delivery Rob Partridge said the devastation caused by the cyclone and the destruction of the gorge bridge had shown just how crucial the realignment project was.

“This project will make this section of the road resilient, safer and lead to more-consistent travel times,” Partridge said.

“The past three months have shown us that whenever this section of SH2 is closed, for whatever reason, the impact on both Wairoa and Hawke’s Bay is huge,” he said. “Even before the cyclone, this area has been prone to slips and rockfall, so a safer and more resilient journey over the gorge should help with more-consistent and reliable journeys.”

“An added benefit of the realignment project is that there will be minimal disruption to the existing road and road users, something I’m sure the communities in this area will welcome after the past few months,” says Partridge.

Meanwhile, the highway is open to traffic between 5am and 9pm, with contractors continuing work on other damaged sites, as Waka Kotahi works towards opening the road 24/7.