Cyclone Gabrielle: Pothole fixes, four-lane Hawke’s Bay Expressway coming – but local roads need hundreds of millions

On one hand, you have the Government trumpeting its promise to build an all-singing, all-dancing four-lane Hawke’s Bay Expressway some time in the future.

On the other, there’s the hundreds of millions of dollars councils
need to rebuild our cyclone-devastated regional roading network.

The Coalition Government, through Minister of Transport Simeon Brown, announced an intent this week to fill potholes across the State Highway network with a new fund.

For Hawke’s Bay, that’s roads such as SH2, SH5 and SH50.

In statements provided to Hawke’s Bay Today, both Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst and Central Hawke’s Bay mayor Alex Walker welcomed news of the $500 million national Pothole Fund.

Allied to that news, Tukituki MP Catherine Wedd emphasised the expressway’s status as a road of national significance, and reiterated the National Party’s pre-election pledge to expand it to four lanes.

Hazlehurst expressed enthusiasm for that project as well.

However, there’s no timeline for the expansion of the expressway, because the idea remains in the draft phase.

In the meantime, Hastings District Council (HDC) estimates it will take $800 million to restore that district’s transport network and CHB District Council (CHBDC) is saying it needs $129m of work done to its local roads.

The HDC says it received a 93 per cent New Zealand Transport Agency (Waka Kotahi) subsidy towards the “approximately $100 million” spent on its immediate cyclone response to roading.

The Government, via the North Island Weather Events Fund, has committed an additional $228m towards transport recovery.

“[That’s] a further $50 million increase over the roading subsidy expected, which offsets council’s contribution to the Category 3 voluntary residential property purchases,” the HDC said.

“That leaves approximately $500 million yet to fund. Waka Kotahi will provide a subsidy for this, but the amount of that subsidy is yet to be established.”

The CHBDC says local bodies have until April 2 to respond to the Government’s draft policy statement on land transport, which includes items such as the pothole repair and widening of the Hawke’s Bay Expressway.

Councils will also get an opportunity to directly express their transport priorities to the Government at a workshop on March 20.

“From a recovery perspective, we still have a $129 million roading repair bill that we will continue to work with NZTA and the Hawke’s Bay Regional Recovery Agency to seek further Government funding on,” the CHBDC said.

That needs to be to the tune of 95 per cent, either from NZTA through a “bespoke Funding Assistance Rate or other equivalent funding from Government”.

“This is a major priority for us and a 5 per cent contribution to repairs has a significant financial impact for our community,” the CHBDC said.

“This will be greater if a 95 per cent level of funding cannot be achieved.”

Wedd says toll roads might be a mechanism by which the Government funds these projects.

All up, she says the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport will increase the budget for road maintenance across the country by $640m.

How that’s eventually funnelled towards councils such as those in Hawke’s Bay remains to be seen. For now, Wedd is keen to emphasise the importance of the main road between Napier and Hastings.

“I think the key point to note is our Government is 100 per cent committed to building the four-lane expressway. It’s on the priority list and the wheels are in motion,” Wedd said.

“Roads take time and investment but, in our first 100 days, we are taking action.

“The Hawke’s Bay Expressway is on the table as one of this Government’s key infrastructure projects and now we need to go through the process and we will keep everyone updated as this process takes place.”

Hamish Bidwell joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2022 and works out of the Hastings newsroom.