It's going to be months and months of taking the long way round for freight companies faced with 400 kilometres of damaged roads, and some communities still only reachable by air or sea.
The goverment has anounced $250 million of extra funding for Waka Kotahi for emergency road works.
The focus is on getting lifeline routes open and reconnecting isolated communities. Some Tai Rāwhiti and Hawke's Bay communities are effectively islands, with little or no road access, or detours that add hours onto trips.
There is no direct route between Gisborne and Napier with State Highway 2 to Wairoa out of action.
Gisborne-based freighters Eastlite Carriers manager Tamara says its a daily roading jigsaw and is likely to last for months.
