Finding ways to keep Gisborne connected

The collapse of the Hikuwai No. 1 Bridge in Cyclone Gabrielle took with it not just a critical road link for the East Coast, but the fibre network ensuring internet connectivity. Picture by Chorus, Rory O’Sullivan

Gisborne’s main internet link was restored quickly in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle but ongoing monitoring will be needed for two more years, before a permanent solution,  to put the the fibre optic cable  underground, can be implemented.

“The damage inflicted by Cyclone Gabrielle on the Chorus fibre network was devastating and widespread,” a Chorus spokesman said.

“In Northland, Auckland, Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne, flooding and landslips caused significant cuts to critical infrastructure including roads and bridges where Chorus fibre had been supported.

“The immediate and ongoing costs to repair, restore and build back our network more strongly will run into the millions of dollars.”

Chorus is the biggest network provider in the Hawke’s Bay-Gisborne area.

“In Te Tairāwhiti/Gisborne, there were nine damage locations to the core fibre network. Full connectivity was restored within a week of when Cyclone Gabrielle struck, with teams of technicians working in extremely challenging conditions in remote areas to instal ‘overlay’ fibre solutions.”

The amount of fibre used to repair the network across all of Gisborne and the East Coast since the cyclone amounted to 11.5km, of which 2km was used around the Mangahauini Gorge and another 800m at Hikuwai, where the bridge was destroyed in the cyclone.

“While these connections are secure, they require regular re-inspection and reassessment to minimise and/or eliminate any risk to their integrity.

“The re-inspection phase will continue until such time as permanent solutions can be implemented.

“These are in a ‘design and build’ phase, and in some cases require long-term civil works to be completed.

“For example, the fibre which bypasses the Mangahauini Gorge near Tokomaru Bay is in a secure state with a low risk assessment.

“There is a re-inspection programme assigned to this site so that our technicians can monitor and mitigate any increased risk posed to the fibre route.

“In one of the final and most dramatic of the restoration projects immediately following the cyclone, this fibre was strung over the hills by helicopter in order to bypass a section of State Highway 35 which was completely washed away by an enormous landslip.

“Civil works are expected to take 18-24 months, at which point a permanent solution to align the fibre underground and alongside the new stretch of highway will be implemented.”