Government Advances SH2 Waikare Gorge Realignment with New Bridge Design

The Government is continuing to make progress on the State Highway 2 (SH2) Waikare Gorge realignment between Hawke’s Bay and Wairoa, with a contract now awarded for the detailed design phase to get underway, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says.

We know how critical this section of SH2 is for local road users, freight operators, and the wider communities who use this corridor every day. With funding confirmed by the Government in early 2025, it’s great to see further progress being made on this crucial project, Mr Bishop says.

The SH2 Waikare Gorge realignment project is being contracted and delivered in two phases, with the detailed design phase the first part to get underway. NZTA has awarded this contract to HEB Construction.

The realignment will shift the highway away from the gorge and introduce a new bridge spanning over the top, removing the need to travel through a vulnerable section of SH2. Initial designs have been provided to NZTA, and they show a 260 metre long single-span truss bridge crossing the gorge - 60 metres above the river.

This week, landowners and the community may have started to see some activity on site as HEB carries out geotechnical investigations to inform the final detailed design of the project. In parallel, NZTA will also be finalising outstanding property acquisition.

Early works are expected to get underway later this year, with main construction starting once the design, consenting and property acquisition are completed. Construction is expected to take up to four years to complete. Traffic disruption will be kept to a minimum, as it will be constructed away from the existing SH2, except when it comes to connecting the new road to the existing state highway in the future.

We have seen in recent years how vulnerable this section of SH2 is, especially through Waikare Gorge. Cyclone Gabrielle hit the area hard, and while a temporary bridge was installed to restore access across the river, it is great to see progress being made on a permanent replacement for this critical corridor.

I want to thank local MP Katie Nimon for her strong advocacy for this project and her community.

Notes to editor: The project is expected to cost between $350 and $425 million.

The previous bridge design over the Waikare Gorge was a ‘network arch bridge’ – this was used solely as an example in NZTA’s initial design.

A new artists impression of the SH2 Waikare Gorge bridge design as at May 2026 is attached below.

A temporary (Acrow) bridge currently crosses through Waikare Gorge. It is a one lane bridge and will remain in place until the realignment project is complete.