Forget the bridge, get on with the bypass.
That’s the plea from Wairoa Mayor Craig Little as uncertainty continues over the near future of the long-awaited State Highway 2 Waikare Gorge Realignment proposal.
A decision is likely on the bypass by the end of the month with the approval of the 2024-2027 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP).
The board of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, chaired by former National Party leader Simon Bridges, is due to consider the NLTP on August 22.
In answer to questions from Hawke’s Bay Today, Minister of Transport Simeon Brown said the realignment was a priority in the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) released in April this year, and in the Regional Land Transport Plan.
The project has been in planning for several years, leading to the design of 3.9km of new highway bypassing Putorino.
Its urgency was reinforced by the destruction of the nearby Waikare River bridge in Cyclone Gabrielle, which cut the Wairoa road link to Hawke’s Bay for three months last year before a temporary Bailey Bridge was opened.
There have been numerous periodic closures of the highway both at the bridge site and elsewhere between Wairoa and Napier before and since the cyclone, many generated by weather events.
With some concerns in Hawke’s Bay that the bypass would be deferred and work concentrated on a new bridge, questions were asked following last week’s Government confirmation of “the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event [NIWE] funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024″.
The replacement of the bridge was excluded from the breakdown while a “final option” was being confirmed.
Brown said funding for the realignment, which has a projected cost of over $200 million, is subject to confirmation of the NLTP.
With the gorge deemed a key point on SH2 between Napier and Ōpōtiki, the need for realignment or diversion was identified more than seven years ago, and the project is regarded by the NZTA as an “important project to make the state highway safer and less likely to suffer closures.”
Following consultation, a preferred route was announced in August 2021, and a resource consent application was lodged by the NZTA with the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council in May 2023.
There were no objections when submissions closed in March, after which Council staff projected consent would be granted by the end of July.
The NZTA is preparing with geotechnical investigations, ecological surveys and detailed design, and says that once consents, approvals and construction funding are approved, a start date will be announced, with construction expected to take at least three years.
“The NLTP will be adopted by the NZTA board in late August, with confirmation of projects included to be made by NZTA in due course,” Brown said.
He said the Government is committed to state highway recovery across Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti and Budget 2024 confirmed $250m for state highway recovery works in Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti over the next two years.
The Budget funding excluded rebuild projects to ensure that robust cost estimates and business cases for projects are completed - information which would then be used to inform any decisions around potential further Crown funding, including future Budget rounds.
The Waikare Gorge realignment is proposed to be the biggest single project on the almost 120km of SH2 between Napier and Wairoa since the opening of the 3.1km Matahorua Gorge deviation, with two bridges, 13 years ago.
Meanwhile, the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has adopted its 2024-2034 RLTP and sent proposals to the Government on a plan to rebuild the region’s roading network after the cyclone devastation, which included wrecking two bridges between Napier and Hastings, putting major pressure on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway.
It focuses on maintenance and resilience and proposes significant transport investment, with $4.7 billion sought for the region’s transport system across the next decade, including $595m over the next three years for maintenance, operations, and renewals, including emergency works and pothole prevention.
To strengthen the connection between the two main urban areas, $800m – $900m is proposed to increase the capacity and reliability of the expressway. Over $2b is also proposed across the next decade to repair, rebuild, and enhance the resilience of vital state highway links, crucial for community connectivity and economic growth.
Regional Land Transport Committee chair and councillor Martin Williams said the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle “revealed the fragility of our transport system”.
“This plan is our commitment to rebuild stronger and smarter, ensuring that our communities are never left isolated again,” he said.
“This RLTP is not just about recovery; it’s about building a future-proof transport system that can withstand the challenges of tomorrow, while setting our region up to maximise future opportunities.”
Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 51 years of journalism experience, 40 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.
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