PM Chris Luxon and Transport Minister Chris Bishop announced that a number of roads would see their speed limits returned to their previous. higher limits. Video / Mark Mitchell
After four years, a battering by three cyclones, countless storms, and an additional $2 million, work along Route 52 from Wimbledon to Weber is complete.
Tararua District Council celebrated the completion with an afternoon tea for people who were involved with the project at the historic Wimbledon Tavern situated along the route on Wednesday.
In 2020, Tararua District Council was granted $14.6m from the Provincial Growth Fund to assist with maintaining employment in the district. The “shovel ready” project started after Covid-19.
Funding went towards the 26km stretch deemed most in need of safety and resilience improvements, between Weber to Wimbledon and the Central Hawke’s Bay district boundary.
An aerial shot depicts work being done to Gollans Corner along Route 52.
Work was delayed after Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023 when resources had to be diverted away from the project to address damage around the district.
This resulted in a larger programme and an additional $2m to cover the impact of delays caused by the disruption from weather events.
The $16.6m upgrade was delivered by the council’s roading team, Tararua Alliance – a partnership between Tararua District Council and Downer and primary subcontractors Alabaster Contracting and HES Earthmoving.
“The project was about making this critical stretch of Route 52 safer and more resilient, and it has achieved that.”
“It’s taken a lot of work and time, and credit must go to the local community for waiting so patiently and to the contractors who have worked on what was a treacherous route in sometimes atrocious conditions.”
Collis said the road upgrade was about getting “our local economy going again” and the project created the equivalent of fulltime work for 230 people and utilised local materials.
“Route 52 is a key connection between us and our neighbouring districts but also a key route for our rural sectors, forestry in particular.”
Before and after work depicted 5km from the turnoff from Route 52 to Herbertville Beach.
Tararua District Council infrastructure manager Hamish Featonby said the upgrade now provided a consistent journey and the road was unrecognisable in places.
“There was significant investment in stabilising the road, with around 6km of pavement retreated on to more stable ground.”
He said the worst blind corners were “opened up” and the previously narrow road now has a consistent width of 7.5m, which is much safer for heavy vehicles.”
Damage along Route 52 had eaten into the bank largely narrowing the road in places.
Much of the drainage work had been completed before Cyclone Gabrielle which Featonby said “put the site to a significant test”.
“Cyclone Gabrielle had caused superficial damage, largely slips from the slopes well above the road formation, and the carriageway itself received no major damage.”
He said the road was navigable the day after the cyclone, which was a true test of the works, and quite the contrast to the roads nearby which weren’t prepared for the “intensity of weather”.
