State highways in recent flood-hit regions of Tairāwhiti, Wairoa, Hawke’s Bay, Coromandel and Northland are getting an extra $567 million in Government funding for repairs.
The funding will be allocated to Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency out of the $6 billion National Resilience Plan announced in May’s Budget.
It’s on top of the $525 million already provided to Waka Kotahi in the immediate aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle while another $200m was also provided to help repair the North Island rail network.
Cyclone recovery minister Grant Robertson says the National Resilience Plan will also address severe infrastructure deficits.
“We need to ensure that transport infrastructure is rebuilt quickly post the weather events, but also that they are built in a resilient way as increasingly severe weather events will continue to hit New Zealand,” he says.
Transport minister David Parker says nearly all links have been restored in cyclone- and flood-affected areas and many of those roads need to be made safer and more resilient.
“We need permanent solutions in places where Bailey bridges were put in to reopen river crossings. This extra funding will replace or strengthen and rebuild damaged bridges.
“It will also improve the road surface on major stretches of road where potholes and cracks left after the weather events have made travel slow and frustrating for locals.
“In addition to the funding for state highways the Government has already made a significant contribution to local road repairs, which are normally the responsibility of local government. This amounts to $210 million since February this year,” Parker says.
