Fletchers Crossing Bridge reopened almost two years after it was destroyed by Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo: Supplied / Central Hawke's Bay District Council
The reopening of a Hawke's Bay bridge this weekend marks a "milestone moment" for a rural community, nearly two years after its destruction at the hands of Cyclone Gabrielle, says a district council spokesperson.
The Fletchers Crossing Bridge in Wakarara reopened on Friday almost two years after it was destroyed in the February 2023 storm.
Central Hawke's Bay District Council group manager for Community Infrastructure and Development, Mark Kinvig, said the local community was now reconnected with the rest of the region.
"Reopening Fletchers Crossing Bridge is a milestone moment for our district as it brings back normality and ease to the community... it's not just about the structures - it's about the lives they support."
Fletchers Crossing Bridge, Wakarara, Hawke's Bay. Photo: Supplied / Hawke's Bay District Council
He said the new bridge would be more resilient in future storms and offered other tourism and travel benefits, such as providing a more direct route to Sunshine Hut in the Ruahine Forest Park.
The project was fully financed by the $11m North Island Weather Event Fund. Fletchers Crossing is one of the fund's four key Central Hawke's Bay recovery sites prioritised for repair.
The $1m works completed on the bridge was just phase one of a three-part project to restore the bridge and surrounding roads over the next six months, at a total cost of $2.5m, Kinvig said.
"The priority for my team was to get this bridge opened as soon as possible and to protect it from any future major events, that one-in-a-100-year storm event."
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