The Transport Rebuild East Coast (TREC) Alliance has been set up to plan, organise and deliver much of the recovery and rebuild work needed on the highway and rail networks in Te Tairāwhiti (Gisborne) and Te Matau a Māui (Hawke's Bay), in conjunction with local businesses and contractors.
Over the past few years, the East Coast has experienced significant rainfall, coastal surges and strong winds, all of which puts pressure on the roading and rail networks.
Following these damaging weather events, work is needed to address short-term recovery (to keep roads and rail open and ensure access), and we have also looked at potential mid to long term rebuild opportunities (to improve the resilience of roads and rail).
The Transport Rebuild East Coast (TREC) Alliance members include Waka Kotahi, KiwiRail, Downer, Fulton Hogan and Higgins. The Alliance works alongside local businesses and contractors.
The East Coast has a strong pool of hard-working, skilled and experienced contractors, consultants and suppliers who understand both road and rail building and the East Coast whenua. TREC is complementing – not replacing – existing resource within the region, using an ‘East Coast first’ philosophy for physical works, with specialists from other regions brought in as required.
Recovery works, needed to restore the state highway and rail networks to their pre-weather event condition are ongoing. This is focused on getting back to two lanes and keeping networks open. It includes works like: slip clearing, stabilisation and protection, river and road edge scour repairs, drainage works, road surface repairs and replacement and bridge repairs.
Minor resilience improvements may take place through the construction process, where modern standards naturally provide a better outcome than what was in place beforehand.
Recovery work is funded. Following $384M of funding announced in 2023 the May 2024 Budget saw an additional $250M allocated for recovery work on Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti state highways.
Future potential rebuild works would be focused on improving the resilience of the state highway and rail network at key locations.
This potential rebuild work is not currently funded, however NZTA is considering funding opportunities through the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF).
The TREC Alliance is also undertaking the ongoing maintenance and operations requirements of the state highway network in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay. This work also contributes to the ongoing resilience of the state highways.
Recovery work is progressing well. The full recovery work timeline is currently being worked through.
Funding for any potential rebuild work, through the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF) will be announced in September 2024.
