Flooding in in Pōrangahau, Hawke's Bay, after Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo: Bayden Anderson
Central Hawke's Bay District Council says it is $129 million short of the money needed to fix roads ruined by Cyclone Gabrielle.
NZ Transport Agency [NZTA] Waka Kotahi is funding a $36 million work programme - which starts this week - to repair 24 roads and bridges before the end of June.
Although the work's start was welcome news, the money would not be enough to get the job done, said the council's chief executive Doug Tate.
"We've been fortunate to have these response works fully funded by NZTA. Once these works are complete in June 2024, however, the district will still require major investment to ensure we have a road network that our communities can rely on," he said.
It was unclear whether central government would contribute, or if the council - and its ratepayers - would have to find a way to pay for it.
The six-month works programme kicked off on Monday at the Gwavas Bridge in Tikokino.
Next on the list were Wakarara Road, Old Hill Road, Flaxmill Bridge and sites on Hautope Road, followed by work on a slew of landslides, bridge repairs and erosion and drainage issues.
That was on top of urgent repairs in 2023, he said.
"Last year, we focused on getting all of our major roads and routes to be at least accessible to a single lane, often with weight restrictions, following the cyclone," Tate said.
"We also completed nearly 3500 simple repairs to our roads funded 100 percent by NZTA.
"This included clearing fallen debris and overslips from culverts and roads, repairing scour to roads, and addressing damage to drainage following the cyclone's considerable rainfall."