Bridge to replace Devil’s Elbow bend on State Highway 2 north of Napier among ‘early ideas’ for recovery; NZTA seeks feedback

A bridge to ease the sharp bend at Devil’s Elbow on State Highway 2 is on the table as NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) asks for public feedback on how to help the region’s highways recover from the cyclone.

Transport Rebuild East Coast (TREC) team has been engaging with affected communities and also wants feedback on motorists’ journeys along the state highways, to minimise disruptions during its repair work.

Feedback closes at 5pm on April 16 and can be submitted through the NZTA website.

The Transport Rebuild East Coast team is seeking feedback on potential rebuild projects which includes a bridge over Devil's Elbow. Graphic / NZTA

Hawke’s Bay’s state highways were devasted during Cyclone Gabrielle, with State Highway 5 through Esk Valley and State Highway 2 between Napier and Wairoa especially hard hit.

According to the NZTA website, TREC is considering changes to reduce the risk of closure of one or both lanes for the well-known hair-raising hairpin bend just west of Tāngoio, between Napier and Wairoa.

There are no timeframes or costs given for any of the SH2 proposals, which are described in the document as “early ideas”.

During the cyclone, water poured off the hillside, tearing through the road and leaving behind a mess of sludge and slash which trapped a truck driver on Devil’s Elbow.

The options proposed in the document for Devil’s Elbow include:

- widening and straightening the road by cutting into the hillside or constructing short bridges over the gullies

- creating new larger drainage channels alongside the road to capture and divert stormwater and sediment to prevent further erosion and slips.

- building a new bridge or “upsized culvert” to ease the sharp bend to improve safety and manage water flows better

The work is separate from the $250 million Waikare deviation, the State Highway 2 Waikare Gorge Realignment, which when approved is set to replace an existing 6km section of road including Pūtōrino (home of the former Waikare Hotel) and the Waikare River Bridge - destroyed in Cyclone Gabrielle and replaced by a temporary Bailey Bridge.

NZTA said it had considered suggestions to bypass the Devil’s Elbow with ideas like Napier MP Katie Nimon’s suggestion to use the rail corridor as a new highway, or building tunnels and bridges.

But the high costs, length of time to construct and complexity of the topography and geography meant the team was focussed on upgrades to the existing corridor, the document said.

Devil's Elbow on State Highway 2 shortly after Cyclone Gabrielle devastated Hawke's Bay. Photo / NZDF

TREC was also seeking feedback on work to help prevent SH2 and SH5 from being affected by flooding and other natural hazards.

Stronger pavements and better drainage for both roads and raising different parts of both roads are being considered.

TREC had the idea to raise SH5 (from Munns Bridge to SH2) to varying levels and the SH5/ Hill Road intersection so it can still provide access during floods or shift the road to the south of the floodplain and construct it at a higher level than the existing state highway.

For SH2, TREC suggests raising the road from Esk River Bridge to Whirinaki Drain to reduce the frequency, depth and duration of overtopping from floods and upgrading the Whirinaki Drain culvert to a larger size to allow more water to pass through.

An upgrade of the SH2 Esk River Bridge to raise it was also suggested to reduce closures from flood events and address safety and seismic vulnerabilities.

Two options TREC considered for safety and resilience at the SH2 and SH5 intersection were upgrading the intersection and designing a roundabout or other improvements, or minor resilience improvements to stabilise the slope and add rockfall protection.