NZ InfraWatch
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Tairāwhiti / Gisborne Cyclone Recovery
Crown / Gisborne District Council · Gisborne
Infrastructure rebuild in Tairāwhiti after Cyclone Gabrielle: SH2 and SH35 repairs across about 170 faults, flood protection and community rebuilding. The Crown's 2023 cost-sharing agreement committed $125m for roads and resilience and $64m for category 2 flood protection. Gisborne District Council puts restoring its local roads at about $465m, against $245m received.
Data current as at 16 Sept 2026, when the pipeline was last checked against its source.
Key facts
- Region
- Gisborne
- Sector
- Other
- Status
- Under Construction
- Estimated value
- Value TBC
- Indicative completion
- 2026
- Funding status
- Fully Funded
- Lead organisation
- Crown / Gisborne District Council
- Election risk
- Low
Election risk assessment
Emergency resilience rebuild. Bipartisan.
Government priority alignment
HIGH: Cyclone recovery and flood resilience, strong alignment with the government resilience priority.
Chronology
- 2022Multiple severe weather events damage Tairāwhiti roads and infrastructure. SH2 repeatedly closed
- 2023Cyclone Gabrielle (Feb 2023) devastates Tairāwhiti. Crown and Tairāwhiti agree cost-sharing arrangements (24 Aug): $125m for roads and resilience, $64m for flood protection, a $30m zero-interest council loan and up to $15m for category 3 buyouts
- 2023SH2 (Wairoa-Gisborne) and SH35 (East Coast) repairs begin
- 2024Managed retreat discussions for most vulnerable communities. Flood protection upgrades underway
- 2026Core infrastructure rebuild target: some communities may face permanent relocation
Source
Gisborne District Council: roads and bridges recovery ↗ · Beehive: Crown and Tairāwhiti cost-sharing arrangements (Aug 2023) ↗ · Beehive: more than $1 billion for cyclone relief and resilience (Budget 2024) ↗ · NZTA: North Island state highway recovery and rebuild ↗