Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says giving up on some Coromandel roads might be the best solution

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says conversations need to be had about whether repairing roads like State Highway 25A is worth it, but building a “resilient transport network” is a big priority.

The highway closed in January after the formation of deep cracks, slips and flooding damage from ex-cyclone Hale over Auckland Anniversary weekend, and was expected to be closed for up to a year.

Hipkins said it might be best to “give up” on some roads rather than try to fight a losing battle.

“Do we actually say, ‘That road we give up on and [we’ll] build a different road somewhere else’? Those are the sorts of conversations we need to have in the Coromandel.

“That highway [SH25A] has been rebuilt multiple times, and no sooner is it re-opened, everyone’s enjoying it again, and boom - it gets washed out again.

“If we are going to have a transport connection there, do we need to re-route? Do we put it somewhere else?”

The highway was one of the main tourist routes for holidaymakers heading to the Thames-Coromandel region, and business owners fear its closure could lead to them losing another summer’s trade by the time it’s repaired.

The massive landslide that sliced through State Highway 25A, which is still closed. Photo / RNZ

When asked if the huge cost of cyclone damage would eat into the budget for projects that were already planned, Hipkins signalled a Labour government would look to increase the overall investment in the road network.

“Those sorts of trade-offs have been made in the past. Less money going into road maintenance in order to fund the roads of national significance, like Transmission Gully [and the] Waikato Expressway.

“I would never argue that those are not really valuable things to fund. I live in Wellington, and I look at Transmission Gully, and it has transformed transport for the Wellington network, but I don’t think you can do it as an either/or.

“I think you have to fund the road maintenance, the road upgrades and some of those newer, bigger projects. Transmission Gully has added resilience to Wellington’s transport. Similar to the Waikato Expressway, that has added huge resilience to that region. I think we have got to do both.”

An aerial view of State Highway 25A. Photo / Philip Hart

Hipkins said the network was never going to be “perfect” and the road between Tauranga and Hamilton “needs a bit of work”.

“Over time, we can plug in more bits and fill in more pieces of the puzzle.”

Speaking to media in Coromandel this afternoon, Hipkins said it had “quite a future of road cones ahead” as officials worked through a “really big job, not just here, but around the rest of the country”.

“I think the reality is, the work is going to take as long as it takes.

“I think what the recent extreme weather has shown us is that there are a number of vulnerabilities across the country.

“We’re dealing with areas that are still very weak now, and with more rain and moisture heading into winter, we know that we could be facing some further challenges ahead, including more washouts, more slips and so on.”

Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency regional relationships director David Speirs said it was still looking into the most viable options for repairing SH25A.

“At the moment, the site is still moving, so getting good geotech is a real challenge.

“That’s our problem at the moment - we’ve got to wait for the site to settle.

“Once the site settles, we can get some good geotech and some certainty around how long [repairs will take], and invest [in] the most viable option.”