Hon Michael Wood, Minister of Transport visited Downer in Hastings to view Bailey bridge components. Developed by the British during the WW2, Bailey bridges are a versatile, cost-effective system being relatively quick and easy to put up.
Unison crews restored power to Meeanee, Brookfields Rd, and parts of Puketapu South from a generator in Omaranui Rd today.
It has already reconnected power to parts of Glengarry, Patoka, Hendley, Rissington, and Puketapu, and was also assessing generator solutions for Te Haroto and Te Pohue.
As of Thursday morning, there were still just over 2000 customers without power in Hawke’s Bay, mostly in outlying rural areas.
Unison’s incident controller said it still had “a long way to go” in terms of repairing and restoring the network but was throwing all its resources into the “mammoth repair”.
“We understand how hard it is for people to be without power for this long, and our crews are working tirelessly to restore power to everyone across Hawke’s Bay as quickly as possible.”
Unison crews were working street-by-street to restore power to urban areas that remain without power, such as parts of Awatoto and Meanee.
Meanwhile, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said an increasing number of people had been turning up at the Napier end of the State Highway 5 closure.
Currently, the road is open for emergency access only between Bay View and Te Pōhue, and there is controlled access in place for residents and essential supplies only between Te Pōhue and Taupō.
Residents require proof of address to get through the closure points.
Waka Kotahi Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne journey manager Andre Taylor said contractors were “working hard” to open up key connections on its networks.
A slip on State Highway 5 on Tuesday after the rain overnight Monday. Photo / Supplied
“SH5 has been significantly impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle and contractors from both Taupō and Hawke’s Bay are working incredibly hard to restore access as soon as possible.
“Waka Kotahi had geotechnical specialists at the slip site at Te Pohue on SH5 site yesterday to conduct a full assessment. This will inform the design and timeline for a fix, and we hope to be in a position to provide further detail later this week.
“In the meantime, we are constructing an access route alongside the slip to enable access for emergency vehicles.”
Temporary repair work to restore access to Marshall’s Bridge, where the bridge supports were washed out, was completed yesterday.
However, there were other sites along SH5 that also needed to be made safe and it’s likely the next step for access on this road will be allowing freight convoys through, Taylor said.
“We know how important this connection is to communities in Hawke’s Bay and further afield, and as soon as we’re in a position to reopen the road, we will let everyone know.”
Whirinaki residents were advised to continue boiling their water if they could access it from their taps.
Hastings District Council said some people may have noticed their water supply was returning intermittently but it was not yet officially restored yet.
