Road to Wairoa reopens as Cyclone Hale departs

The key northern Hawke’s Bay lifeline of State Highway 2 between Napier and Wairoa has reopened after it was closed for almost two days due to slips.

The highway had been closed since early Wednesday morning after slips near the Devil’s Elbow, between Tangoio and Tutira, 30-35km north of Napier.

Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency reported SH2 reopened as planned about 5pm on Thursday, after slips - some which fell Thursday morning - were cleared.

Temporary traffic management was in place at several sites and road users were advised to take extra care with further slips possible.

It came as plenty of other roads - mainly rural - also remained closed or barely passable on Thursday, after ex-Cyclone Hale had departed.

The closure of SH2 caused headaches for motorists and trucks. Photo / Warren Buckland

The cyclone brought torrential rain and caused plenty of slips, with trees down and flooding across the Bay during Wednesday morning.

Nine roads across the Hastings district remained closed on Thursday morning, mainly due to slips, according to Hastings District Council.

These included the Napier-Taihape road which had a large slip near the Kuripapango campsite, along with flooding at other sites.

In Central Hawke’s Bay, sections of Cooks Tooth Rd and Mangaorapa Rd remained closed on Thursday morning, and there were concerns about a 300mm slumping of a previously bolstered section of Route 52 in southern Hawke’s Bay.