Road to Recovery

Following Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023, our recovery team launched into action to assess the damage across the district’s 1,265-km roading network. The cyclone damage on top of the wet winter weather in 2022 left the district with 72 roads closed due to large slips, washouts and damaged/destroyed bridges – totalling around $150 million worth of damage.

We completed urgent repairs/clean-up at key sites to reconnect rural communities, before planning and prioritising response and recovery efforts to be completed over several years, depending on funding available. 

Cyclone Response Programme, February 2023–June 2024

• Secured $45.46 million of emergency response funding from NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi to plan and initiate a cyclone response programme of works.
• Completed more than 4,000 minor repairs to reconnect rural communities and restore single-lane, light vehicle access to all communities, including repairs to 1,231 drainage faults, 608 landslide faults, 662 bridge faults and 1,845 pavement surface faults. 
• Worked through a categorised programme of cyclone repairs that required detailed engineering and design work, including 16 landslides, 5 bridges, 5 river protection sites and 2 washouts.
• Completed minor protection work on 98 unfunded cyclone-damaged sites to reduce traffic management costs and ensure sites remained safe.

Cyclone Recovery Programme, July 2024–June 2025 

• Awarded $11 million funding through National Resilience Plan negotiations to repair four key recovery sites: Wimbledon Road 1.3, Wimbledon Road 1.9, Elsthorpe Road and Fletchers Crossing.
• Secured $18.1 million funding for a further 30 critical roading recovery projects, to begin in February 2025.
• Programmed 30 critical repairs for completion by the end of June 2025, including 16 landslides, 4 bridges and 10 erosion protection projects. These repairs will reduce travel times for our rural communities and restore access to primary sector producers.
• Construction on the four key recovery sites initiated. 
• We will continue to advocate for additional recovery funding to restore a roading network that our communities can rely on.

Our team of engineers, project managers, designers and contractors are working collaboratively to ensure efficient and effective recovery. We're prioritising repairs, managing budgets and focusing on quality outcomes that benefit our communities.

The road beyond recovery

While our roading recovery programme addresses immediate needs, Council recognises the importance of long-term planning to address future climate variability and change impacts on the district's infrastructure.