A reminder State Highway 2 at Waikare Gorge, south of Wairoa, will be closing for 24 hours next weekend for the installation of an Acrow bridge, a new temporary bridge to replace the current Bailey bridge. This new bridge is stronger, wider and quieter.

SH2 Waikare Bailey bridge to be replaced with wider, stronger, quieter bridge(external link)

The closure will take place from 10am Saturday 6 September to 10am Sunday 7 September.

Following this 24-hour closure, there will be an additional 3 nights of closures, to focus on widening the north and south bound approaches to the new bridge. These will be 9pm to 5am each night on Sunday 7, Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 September. The road will then reopen 5am Wednesday 10 September (at this time, the Acrow bridge will be fully operational).

As soon as the 24-hour closure has finished, the new bridge will be open to light, 50MAX and HPMV vehicles (less than 3.2 metres wide) until the first night closure later than night when work starts to widen the approaches.

If you’re travelling between Napier and Wairoa before the closure times, please allow enough travel time (a minimum of 1 hour from either location) to make it to the gorge before the closure starts.  

This work is weather dependent.  If weather delays the full closure, the contingency is the following weekend (starting Saturday 13 September).

Note that there will be no access for emergency services during the full 24-hour closure. However, emergency services will be assisted through the night closures.