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Motorists are being asked to plan ahead for a five-hour daytime closure of one of the two main bridges between Napier and Hastings on Friday as crews work “flat-out” to restore highways throughout Hawke’s Bay.
Weather-dependent bridge inspections are set to take place on the Waitangi Park Bridge between 10am and 3pm on Friday to allow full-load-bearing testing.
Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne journey manager, Andre Taylor, said the outcome of the test would determine whether the bridge could be opened to two lanes of traffic.
“We realise how important this route is, and being able to open it to two lanes is a high priority for us, our bridge engineers and the Hawke’s Bay community.”
Repairs to Marshalls Bridge on State Highway 5 from Napier to Taupō were finished on Tuesday, with work involving backfilling and preparing settlement slabs that secure and support the bridge.
The repair was key to re-opening the highway, but it remained closed to the public.
On Facebook, Waka Kotahi said its priority was the slip between Te Pōhue and Glengarry and other sites along the road.
Crews arrived at the site early on Monday morning to assess a new slip and started constructing a temporary road around the site under the direction of geotechnical engineers.
Waka Kotahi said crews from both Hawke’s Bay and Taupō were “working flat-out” to restore access.
A slip on State Highway 5 on Tuesday after the rain overnight Monday.
State Highway 2 between Wairoa and Gisborne re-opened on Tuesday night.
In some good news, the region may finally start to see the back of the weather pattern known as La Niña that has brought record rainfall to the region.
Niwa predicts La Niña is expected to transition to Enso-neutral, also called the neutral phase, this month.
In its seasonal climate outlook for March to May, Niwa said rainfall was equally likely to be near or above normal in the east of the North Island.
Low-pressure systems would occur more frequently over the Tasman Sea and the South Island, leading to spells of westerly winds which will bring more cold fronts.
In Hastings, around 2000 Unison customers were still without power - mostly in outlying rural areas - along with 200 in Napier, as of midday yesterday.
Meanwhile, anyone who required welfare assistance was urged to free-phone 0800 117 672.
The helpline, staffed by Whakarongorau Aotearoa’s call centre, had been set up by Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management for locals needing assistance.
On Monday, Wairoa was lashed by more heavy rain, with around 100 millimetres falling by noon and 20mm of that between 5am and 6am. Fifty properties, including businesses, reportedly suffered fresh flooding.
Napier City Council “strongly advised” residents not to gather and burn the slash on its beaches as the contamination of the debris was likely to pose “serious safety and health risks”.
Water conservation remained critical, it said, with its entire wastewater network still running on generators, some pump stations not operational and its wastewater treatment plant currently inoperable.
Residents were asked to follow the following guidelines:
Don’t rush to flush - keep toilet flushing to an absolute minimum;
Take one-minute showers;
Wash dishes by hand;
Do not hose silt into driveways. This will clog the stormwater and cause flooding, even in minor rain;
Boil drinking water notice for all residents with a private water supply until further notice. This is due to the potential contamination of groundwater from flooding;
Remember, the city’s drinking water is safe to drink.
