Work will start next week to repair and upgrade a section of Kawhia Road and Te Waitere Road in the Waitomo district.

The upgrades are in response to previous storm damage in 2023 where the road was damaged and in some locations, reduced to one lane.

Works will be undertaken by Inframax Construction Ltd and for Te Waitere Road, will include a road retreat to move the road away from the slip area, a rock structure to stabilise slopes and prevent erosion, pavement (road surface) reconstruction through the slumped areas, and drainage improvements on new and existing culverts to improve resilience.

Kawhia Road will receive a timber retaining wall, pavement reconstruction and drainage improvements.

General Manager Infrastructure Service, Shyamal Ram says the slip repair work will reinstate both lanes at all sites and protect against further damage in future weather events.

“Our roading network has suffered extensively over the years due to storm damage. It has taken some time to repair our roads because of differing levels of damage and funding availability, but we are getting there and we thank our community for their understanding and patience.”

Work will start on 19 May weather dependent. During this time there will be some disruption to traffic flows due to the constrained site locations with temporary traffic management in place to allow for the sites to be constructed safely.

The overall completion for both sites is in late June – early July 2025.