Four months after Cyclone Gabrielle caused major devastation across NZ, the final connection on State Highway 35, north of Gisborne, will be restored next week.

A Bailey bridge to replace the Hikuwai no. 1 bridge destroyed by the cyclone will open to the public.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency says the Bailey bridge, which is located between Tolaga Bay and Tokomaru Bay, will be open for road users from 8am on Thursday, June 15.

The bridge will be officially opened at a blessing ceremony on Wednesday afternoon.

Regional maintenance and operations manager Jaclyn Hankin says the opening is a huge milestone for the region's response efforts.

'Like so much of our recovery work over the past few months, the work at Hikuwai wouldn't have been possible without the hard work from our contractors or the support from communities up and down SH35.

'We know the delays to people's daily travel have been disruptive and frustrating and we're looking forward to restoring this key state highway connection next week.”

As with the recently opened Waikare Gorge Bailey bridge on State Highway 2 between Wairoa and Napier, this bridge will be open 24/7 to vehicles up to 50 MAX. This means school buses, stock trucks, freight trucks and some forestry trucks can use the bridge. The bridge is one lane.

A temporary speed limit will be in place for the bridge with traffic management in place to guide road users across safely.