Vegetation has been cleared on the diversion road alignment and machinery mobilised to site with work started on the first stage of the Whirinaki flood mitigation project, in preparation for the main construction on the road raise early next year.
The project, being co-funded between the Crown and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, will deliver new and upgraded flood defences for the Whirinaki community including the road raise, a residential stopbank, and an industrial stopbank.
A key part of the overall project is the raising of a 440m section of State Highway 2 to link in with the stopbanks. Fulton Hogan has been awarded the contract to deliver the road raising portion, while another contractor (shortly to be announced) will build the stopbanks. The work currently underway involves building a sealed, two-way diversion road, ready for the road raising tranche of work to commence in January 2026.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council Chair, Sophie Siers says seeing machinery on site is an exciting milestone and an important step forward for the future resilience of the Whirinaki community, who have faced uncertainty since Cyclone Gabrielle.
“The construction of the diversion road is significant as we can all see work starting and it will give residents the confidence that better flood protection is on the way,” Ms Siers said.
The two-way diversion road, which will be operational by early 2026, is required before the raising of the State Highway can take place. HBRC Project Manager, Luke Cahalin, is pleased to see the project gaining traction with the start of work on the diversion road.
“The bypass will be located near the Contact Energy generation site and Pan Pac seed orchard. We are working closely with NZTA, who have enabled us to modify the road,” says Mr Cahalin.
“We will be raising the part of the State Highway by up to 1.8m at its apex to integrate with the stopbanks, so it’s a significant piece of work. We are also working with NZTA to ensure there is as little disruption to traffic as possible.”
