| 91 CYCLONE REMEDIATION Central Hawkes Bay Council Vital Cyclone Gabrielle repairs ongoing Wimbledon Road RP1.3 Landslide Re-mediation before (top) and after. After more than two years of disruption, vital repair works are under way on Wimbledon Road to restore a safe and reliable lifeline for rural communities south of Porangahau. The work is part of a wider recovery plan to rebuild critical roading links damaged during Cyclone Gabrielle. Backed by $11 million in Crown funding, one of the sites is situated 1.3 kilometres south of the Porangahau Rd and Wimbledon Road intersection, which is being delivered by GSI NZ. Another site, 9.5km further along near the Mangamaire Stream is being delivered by Higgins Contractors. Project manager for Central Hawke’s Bay District Council (CHBDC) Richard Jardine says repairs now under way are essential to reconnecting communities and protecting vital farming, horticultural, forestry and tourism industries in the area. “The damage was significant at both sites.” An historical landslide had initially compromised the first site, which was exacerbated by Cyclone Gabrielle, leaving the road impassable. He says the slip carried the road carriageway downslope, leaving major drop-offs and undulations that made the route impassable and cut off communities and industries further south. To stabilise the site, specialist contractor Geostabilization NZ carried out an innovative ground improvement technique known as Deep Soil Mixing (DSM). A total of 144 DSM columns, each eight metres deep, were constructed beneath the road to lock the formation into the more stable rock substrata below. The stabilisation work and road re- instatement was completed in August 2025, with a second coat of chipseal scheduled for the summer months. Ongoing monitoring and maintenance will continue to ensure the long-term stability of the site. Further south, a second site, near the Mangamaire Stream, high river flows during the cyclone scoured the riverbank and destabilised the carriageway. The damage caused two underslips, forcing the road to be reduced to a single lane under traffic light control, where it has remained since the event. T T Alexia Johnston Council engineers, working with consultants Stantec, have designed a permanent solution using revetment rock, which protects the streambank from future erosion. It also provides a stable structure to rebuild the road back to its original alignment and two-lane width. Construction at the site has been delayed over winter due to high river levels, which prevented essential environmental measures, such as sediment and fish-passage controls from being put in place. Higgins is expected to complete the work early next year. Richard says both sites, as well as all other land transport recovery sites, will be regularly monitored to ensure any deterioration is identified and repaired before causing further risks to the route. He acknowledged the community’s support throughout the process. Richard believes the people of Hawke’s Bay should be proud of the way they have handled adversity, supporting civil defence, community groups, individuals and council teams with advice and practical help. “The people in our communities are not only those most affected by the adversity which came out of the cyclone, but have been the eyes, ears and heartbeat helping our teams to get essential infrastructure repaired and connected again.” As the road to recovery continues for the people of Hawke’s Bay, projects like Wimbledon Rd show how determination, innovation and community spirit are vital. ROCK FOR EVERY PROJECT Contracting rock has been sourced from Hatuma for decades. We can grade and supply rocks for all your project requirements, no matter the scale. Contact us today. www.hatuma.co.nz | 0800 80 65 65 | enquire@hatuma.co.nz
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