Tairāwhiti – Gisborne 2022 update

For Gisborne’s economy to grow and for people to access essential health, education and employment opportunities, investment in the land transport system through the 2021–24 NLTP is supporting improved access and increasing resilience of the road network.

The region’s relative isolation means businesses and communities rely on having access to safe, reliable transport to get their goods to domestic and international markets and to access essential services. SH2 through the Waioeka Gorge is one of these critical routes. A business case is currently being completed to look at how to improve resilience at the high risk sites along this route, which is vulnerable to slips and rockfall. Work is expected to get underway on these improvements in this NLTP period.

The topography of Gisborne – a hilly, mountainous interior, low-lying river plains and coastal flats – makes the region prone to erosion and slips. It is also vulnerable to the impact of climate change and extreme weather, as seen in March 2022 weather event which has had the most significant impact on Gisborne’s state highways since Cyclone Bola, 33 years ago.

A number of resilience projects are underway or expected to start on SH35 to strengthen and stabilise hot spots along the coast, such as at Busby’s Hill and Kopuaroa. These projects include various treatments to improve resilience, such as retaining walls and rock protection to reduce erosion, retreats which involve moving the road to more stable ground, as well as native planting programmes to help stabilise slopes and roadsides.

Improving safety

Following last year’s speed review along SH35, which resulted in speed limit changes from Gisborne to Te Puia Springs, we have completed a review from Te Puia Springs to Tokomaru Bay township. Additional corridors within the region have also been identified for speed limit reviews to ensure the speed limits are safe for everyone who uses these roads. As part of this process, infrastructure improvements such as speed limit signage, traffic calming measures and line marking changes are also being completed.

As part of the Tairāwhiti Roading Package (TRP) announced in 2018, additional passing opportunities will be built at a cost of $33 million along SH2 and SH35. We are on track to deliver 21 sites, a mix of new slow vehicle bays, extensions to existing slow vehicle bays and mobile phone laybys. Five sites are complete, 10 sites are planned for the 2022/2023 financial year and six for the 2023/2024 financial year.

Waka Kotahi wants to achieve better road safety outcomes with Māori. We have started the Improving Road Safety with Māori project under Road to Zero Te Ara Ki te Ora. The He Pūrongo Whakahaumaru Huarahi Mō Ngā Iwi Māori | Māori Road Safety Outcomes Report has been produced to help people understand where we are starting from and the data limitations that currently exist.

The Improving Road Safety with Māori project team will work with Māori to hear more from them about the key challenges facing their people. We will do this initially in two regions, including Te Tairāwhiti, taking a listen first approach, before we partner to develop a way forward. The next steps in this journey may take time but we are committed to doing better for Māori, making sure people are getting home safe to their whānau, hapū, iwi and hapori community.

Better access

In this NLTP, we’re investing $3 million to maintain and develop Gisborne city’s public transport services, with funding for an improved ticketing system, and a strategic review of the city’s public transport system.

Through the TRP $13.5 million is being spent to improve the reliability and resilience of SH35. The work includes native revegetation, retaining structures, retreats and coastal erosion protection at 14 sites. Five of the highest-risk sites have been delivered with the remaining nine to complete by mid-2024.

We’re also investing in safety and resilience improvements through SH2 Waioeka Gorge, a key freight route for Gisborne. A business case is underway, which is expected to be completed in 2022. It will identify ways to improve the resilience and safety of this key route.

For many years, SH35 communities have requested improved wayfinding and Marae signage. Following iwi engagement, a suite of signage was created and installed at Marae located along SH35 (14) and SH2 (2). The first advises road users there are likely to be elderly and young pedestrians ahead and features an image of a kuia (elderly woman) holding the hand of a tamaiti (child). The second is a red kokowai ‘Marae’ sign that has a range of Māori motif options to identify the name of the Marae and the third is a flip-down tangi sign.

In the last 12 months

• Greater resilience has been built into the Gisborne freight network with the completion of bridge strengthening work on SH2 through the Waioeka Gorge. Finished months ahead of schedule and more than $2 million under budget the highway is now capable of carrying High Productivity Motor Vehicles (HPMV) between Gisborne and Bay of Plenty.
• Strengthening resilience of SH35 to better withstand the impact of natural events and provide greater route reliability continued with work completed on five of the 14 highest-risk sites. This is part of the TRP, funded by the Provincial Growth Fund.
• With passing opportunities created at five sites along SH35/SH2, driver frustration has been reduced and overtaking made safer. These opportunities are a mix of slow vehicle bays, extensions to existing slow vehicle bays and mobile phone laybys. This is part of the TRP, with $33 million allocated from the Provincial Growth Fund and National Land Transport Fund.
• Emergency works on SH35 to reconnect the region’s main State highway was completed within three weeks of the most significant weather event to hit Gisborne since Cyclone Bola 33 years ago. Major repairs continue at 15 sites and minor repairs at more than 800 sites across the network continue.
• A detailed business case on resilience and safety improvements on SH2 through Waioeka Gorge, between Gisborne and Ōpōtiki, got underway. The preferred solutions will be recommended in a single stage business case expected to be completed this year.
• Wayfinding has been improved along SH35 and SH2 with a suite of signage specific to Marae having been installed on these key routes.

Underway or about to start

• Over the next 12 months, we’ll focus on planning and delivering the TRP projects, along with the emergency repair works, on SH35 and SH2. The emergency repair works are the result of numerous weather events experienced in 2022.
• Work will continue on SH35 coastal erosion protection, slip remediation, native revegetation and retreating small sections of the road as part of the SH35 Resilience project.
• Four passing opportunities, including a new slow vehicle bay, extension of two existing slow vehicle bays and a mobile phone layby will be completed on SH35. The passing opportunities are part of the SH2 and SH35 passing opportunities project with another five passing opportunities planned for the 2023/2024 financial year.
• The preferred solutions for the SH2 Waioeka Safety and Resilience Business Case will be recommended in late-2022. This is expected to include a number of interventions such as rock scaling, rock fall barriers, seal widening, VMS signs, safe turn-around areas and slope monitoring. Funding will be sought from the 2024-2027 NLTP for pre-implementation and implementation.

Funding overview

Overview map

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