People travelling on State Highway 35 (SH35) between Te Puia Springs and Tokomaru Bay next Friday (21 November) should allow extra time, as crews continue stabilisation work.

Crews will be spraying shotcrete (liquid concrete) onto a slip to stabilise the hillside. 

This is a narrow site with no room to keep one lane open during the work, so traffic will be stopped for up to 20 minutes at a time, up to five times throughout the day, between 9am and 5pm. 

Emergency vehicles responding to callouts will be escorted through the site. 

About the work 

Transport Rebuild East Coast has been working at Kopuaroa since January, building a soil nail wall to repair the slip. 

The highway is currently down to one lane, with automated traffic lights in place until repairs are completed in mid-December. 

These lights are wirelessly synced to let one direction through at a time.

Please adhere to the traffic management in place. Running a red light risks a crash and disrupts the system, causing delays while crews reset the timing. 

For more on the TREC programme and to sign up for fortnightly updates, visit
nzta.govt.nz/trec(external link)

SH35 will be busy this summer 

SH35 Kopuaroa is just one of many active sites on SH35 this season. 

Alongside TREC cyclone recovery work, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) contractors are also carrying out annual summer maintenance. SH35 between Gisborne and Te Araroa may have up to 7 active TREC sites at one time. 

Maintenance crews are also progressing with the road rebuild programme along SH35.

Underway: Ngarimu Hill near Ruatoria, north of Waihuka Road, and Golf Course Road at Te Puia Springs

Road rebuilds strengthen the road and extend its life. This involves removing the existing surface and underlying pavement, then replacing them with new materials. The resealing programme is expected to start at the end of November, beginning at the top of SH35 and working south across multiple sites at a time with short delays.