Linda Paterson and Warwick Marshall, deputy chairman of the Eskdale Church board of trustees, talk about the church recovery after Cyclone Gabrielle. Video / Warren Buckland
As many as 8000 more civil construction workers will be needed in Hawke’s Bay in the next decade including to fix damaged roads and bridges.
Worker accommodation villages are being considered to help house the influx of labour.
It comes as councils in Hawke’s Bay are coming toterms with the enormity of the job ahead for repairing roads and bridges in the wake of February’s Cyclone Gabrielle - on top of the work already done.
Hastings District Council alone has put an estimate of half a billion dollars on its roading network repairs during the next five years.
That council was the hardest hit of any council in the Bay and looks after a whopping 1600km of roading (roughly the length of New Zealand).
The Hawke’s Bay Regional Recovery Agency represents the region’s five councils and recently provided a briefing to the new Government.
That briefing highlighted that “up to 8000 additional civil construction workers [will be] required over the next eight years for post-cyclone infrastructure repairs”.
The site of the old Puketapu Bridge which was destroyed in February. Planning is underway to replace it. Photo / Warren Buckland
Hastings District Council group manager asset management Craig Thew said the figure was based on modelling and would likely come down.
“The 8000 additional construction worker figure is a very preliminary estimate based on early modelling of work programmes.
“That modelling will change as work programmes are prioritised, phased and sequenced and as timing and funding decisions are made.
“The workforce estimate is expected to be reduced when this work is done.”
The Waka Kotahi-led Transport Rebuild East Coast Alliance (TREC) revealed recently it was working on plans for new villages to house the influx of workers needed in the region, including a village in Napier and another in Gisborne that could hold 150 people each.
The alliance was contacted for further comment on its housing plans.
Meanwhile, Thew said not all workers would need to be brought in from beyond the region and there would be “development of the local workforce”.
“Housing any imported workers is being considered ... [so] there are mitigated negative impacts on the already stressed regional housing market,” he said.
“We understand worker accommodation villages may be considered as part of the approach.”
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi is in charge of fixing highways, but local roads and bridges are the responsibility of councils.
The Government has pledged a large financial package to assist Hawke’s Bay councils with that work, including $260 million for road and bridge repairs and replacements (most of which will go to Hastings Council).
However, that is not going to be enough.
Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said, during a committee meeting on December 5, that funding the district’s road network repairs was a concern.
“It is anticipated that expenditure is more than $500m [for Hastings district over the next five years].
“I am quite nervous, and conscious, that at the moment we don’t have $500m, and we have a long way to go to find $500m in the Long Term Plan - and what priorities are going to be addressed and what aren’t.”
She said the council must be mindful of that with its planning.
It is anticipated Waka Kotahi will subsidise a large portion of the work ahead.
Hastings councillor Simon Nixon said during the committee meeting that roading repairs “will dominate what we do for years”.
For Hastings district alone a dozen bridges need to be rebuilt, 40 fixed, and a staggering amount of roads and culverts need to be repaired.
Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.
