All state highways reopened in East Coast, Hawke’s Bay after cyclone

All state highways in Hawke's Bay and Tairāwhiti / East Coast have reopened after Cyclone Gabrielle devastated the network in the region in February.

The network was restored with the completion of the Hikuwai Bailey bridge, Associate Transport Minister Kiritapu Allan said today.

She said it was a "significant milestone" in the ongoing recovery from the cyclone.

“It’s a huge day for the mighty East Coast. This highway is a lifeline for residents of Tokomaru Bay, Waipiro Bay, Te Puia Springs and other communities along State Highway 35 to Gisborne and residents have suffered over the past few months.

"While a locally-built bypass road has allowed some traffic to move through, travel has been limited, impacting communities."

The bypass road opened in March to temporarily replace the washed out Hikuwai No.1 bridge, north of Gisborne, which collapsed in the cyclone.

At 85 metres, the Hikuwai Bailey bridge was the longest bailey bridge in the post cyclone recovery, she said.

The bridge is one of 11 Bailey bridges the Government committed to building to reconnect cyclone-affected communities, and follows the completion of the Waikare Gorge Bailey bridge on State Highway 2 last month, reconnecting Wairoa and Napier.

“We know the last four months have been really tough for many communities and the Government has been focused on restoring access along State Highway 35 and other critical routes as quickly as possible.

“We’ve topped up the National Land Transport Fund by $250 million to cover the cost of emergency repairs and have earmarked a further $275 million for this work in Budget 2023.

“The hard work of our committed local roading crews, contractors and bridge engineers has been incredible and I know everyone has worked tirelessly to reopen these critical routes as safely and quickly as possible."

In Budget 2023, the Government pledged $140 million over seven years to fund a pipeline of low cost low risk resilience works on local roads.

A further $279 million had been set aside for resilience works on state highways over the same time period.