Repairing cyclone damage on Onewhero roads

Work to repair roads in the Onewhero area damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle is scheduled to start in April 2024.

During the initial months after the Auckland Anniversary weekend storms, and Cyclone Gabrielle in mid-February 2023, the immediate priority was to fix the worst of the damage to make sure roads in the area were passable. The focus is now on long-term network resilience, ensuring roads are permanently reinstated in a way that reduces the risk of significant damage from future severe weather events.

Repairs will commence in April on three priority sites across a 2km stretch of Onewhero Tuakau Bridge Road, between Onewhero township and Te Awa Kite Road. Repairs will also address a major underslip on Wairamarama Onewhero Road, between Klondyke Road and Parsons Road.

Works include repairing damage to the road corridor and repairs or improvements to damaged retaining walls.

Traffic management will be in place with stop-go signs or temporary traffic lights and is expected to last several months. Exact dates are to be confirmed but it is anticipated that the roads will be fully open by July. No road closures are anticipated and, when work is safely off road, two-way traffic flow will be in place with speed restrictions.

Councillor Carolyn Eyre, Waikato District representative for Western Districts, said that she will be pleased to see action on these repairs starting soon. “Ensuring safe access in these critical rural areas is a major step in our journey back to normality, as well as helping residents have reliable local road networks for years to come.”

Due to the vast area of damage to the network, the permanent reinstatement programme of post-Cyclone repair work will continue until June 2025 across the whole district, mostly around Taukau and Port Waikato.