Construction of the State Highway 2 Hawke’s Bay Expressway Roads of National Significance project continues to gather pace.

To safely continue this work, the Kennedy Road offramp will be closing in just under a fortnight. (from 24 February)

This closure is necessary as crews prepare to construct a second Kennedy Road overpass.

This closure is expected to be in place until mid-2027, by which time the second overpass will be complete.

During the closure, vehicles heading north can exit the expressway via the Taradale Road roundabout.

Please plan for an additional 5 minutes to journey times.

Cycleway

From Monday (16 February), a section of the Hawke’s Bay cycleway will be closed between Guppy Road and Johns Road. This section of cycleway will be closed 24/7 for up to 3 months.

During the closure, crews will construct the northern abutment of the new bridge at Tutaekuri River. The new northern abutment is directly adjacent to the cycle trail, and because of this, the cycle trail cannot be safely accessed by members of the public while construction is underway.

During this time, a detour will be in place for trail users, for both pedestrians/cyclists. The detour runs from the cycle trail just before it intersects with Guppy Road, up Guppy Road, connecting to Burness Road and the underpass to Jervoistown and beyond, towards Marine Parade.

The recommended detour is approximately 1.5km longer.

Closing this stretch of cycleway temporarily was not something we have taken lightly because we realise it’s a well used piece of the region’s cycling network.

Community support

“We’re grateful the project has had considerable community support – we wouldn’t be able to progress as efficiently as we have without that support. And we can’t wait the whole of the region to benefit from this project,” says Principal Project Manager Jacob Laird.