SH1 south of the town will face short-term closures from 7 am to 5 pm each weekday from today to 8 October 2021.

“Crews will do their best to minimise delays and aim to keep them under 30 minutes. For the first week of the school holidays, these delays will taper off and should be much less frequent,” says Tresca Forrester, Journey Manager for Waka Kotahi.

Abseiling engineering teams who have been installing rockfall safety fencing along hillsides and the canopy rockfall road protection major installation are now wrapping up their projects and removing their machinery and materials from the sites.

Helicopter lifts are needed to access these sites, which involves closing both lanes during daytime hours, says Ms Forrester.

Waka Kotahi thanks all road users for taking care around crews and understanding that these daytime delays are to protect them as the choppers help wrap up this important safety work.

View larger map showing the location of the road closures 

Map showing location of the road closures

Plan ahead for a safe, enjoyable journey. Keep up to date with:

• COVID-19 services update: nzta.govt.nz/COVID19
• Traffic updates: journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic
• Facebook: facebook.com/NZTASouthIsland
• Twitter Canterbury/West Coast: twitter.com/WakaKotahiCWC
• Journey planner: journeys.nzta.govt.nz
• Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)

Waikato System Manager Cara Lauder says chipseal crews will start at the western end of SH25 on Monday 4 October and will reseal over 100 sites in time for the busy Christmas period.

“Summer is a great time to visit the Coromandel, so we’re working hard to get this work completed before the busy summer holiday period.”

The warmer spring and summer months are the best time for resurfacing as daylight hours are longer and the warm temperatures and dry air help the new seal stick to the road surface.

Work will begin at Waitakaruru next week before heading eastwards on SH25 towards Thames, then clockwise around the peninsula to Hikuai then Kopu on SH25A before completing the last section to Waihi. Work is scheduled to be finished around the end of November, subject to weather and any other unexpected delays.

Ms Lauder says in total, 28 kilometres of SH25 and SH25A will get a fresh coat of seal.

“Drivers can expect to see Stop/Go traffic management with speed reduced to 30 km/h where chipseal crews are working. In some locations it may be necessary to fully close the road for short periods of up to 15 minutes to allow crews to work safely. Mobile message boards will provide advance warning a few days before crews begin work.”

For a period of at least 24 hours after a site has been sealed, and before it is swept, it continues to operate under a reduced temporary speed limit while vehicles travel over the seal and help “bed in” the chip and to reduce the risk of chip damaging windscreens. Following this, the site is swept, excess chip is removed and the temporary speed limit remains in place until line marking has been reinstated (within 48 hours of the site being sealed, weather dependent).

It is important motorists adhere to the relevant temporary speed limits during these works to avoid damage to their vehicles and ensure their safety and that of other road users and road workers. 

Motorists are encouraged to visit the interactive Waka Kotahi Journey Planner website for the latest information on these works

These works are part of the Waka Kotahi spring/summer road maintenance programme, which will see repairs and reseals on state highways across the Waikato to ensure the safety and resilience of the state highway network.

Waka Kotahi thanks motorists for their patience while we carry out this important work.

Plan ahead for a safe, enjoyable journey. Keep up to date with:

• COVID-19 services update: nzta.govt.nz/COVID19
• Traffic updates: journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic
• Facebook: facebook.com/NZTAWaikatoBoP
• Twitter: twitter.com/WakaKotahiWaiBP
• Journey planner: journeys.nzta.govt.nz
• Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)

The work will take place under the Covid-19 Alert Level 2 health and safety protocols to keep workers and road users safe.

The one-night road closure enables road crews to safely undertake essential maintenance and slip prevention works for the safety of all road users.

While the date is fixed, bad weather or Covid-19 restrictions may cause works to be cancelled, possibly at short notice.

Access will be available for emergency services throughout the closure.

An escorted vehicle service is available for people who need to travel during the closure and should be booked by Friday 8 October 2021. To book, please email email hidden; JavaScript is required

Health and safety protocols will include people staying in their vehicle at all times and wearing a mask for any interactions with road staff.

There is also a five-night closure of the road coming up, from 9pm Sunday 7 November to 4am Friday 12 November 2021. For people who know they need to travel during these nights, they should get in touch to book the escort service.

More information on the Remutaka Hill closures, including the full schedule of planned closures up to June 2022

Plan ahead for a safe, enjoyable journey. Keep up to date with:

• COVID-19 services update: nzta.govt.nz/COVID19
• Traffic updates: journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic/wellington
• Facebook: facebook.com/NZTAWgtn
• Twitter: twitter.com/WakaKotahiWgtn
• Journey planner: journeys.nzta.govt.nz
• Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)

Ground testing will also be underway on SH1 in nearby Tinwald Monday and possibly Tuesday night overnight, with a detour for north-bound traffic.

“The work in Ashburton will run for five nights to the following Thursday night,” says Tresca Forrester, Journey Manager for Waka Kotahi.

Two sites – at the bridge and at Walnut Ave – will have night crews working with Stop/Go traffic management which may cause short delays for road users. The bridge work starts at 9pm, Walnut Ave work at 7 pm.

Ms Forrester thanked all evening and overnight drivers for their patience while the project teams complete their next stages.

Ashburton River/ Hakatere Bridge (SH1) – repair to deck after storm damage

Sunday night, 3 October to Thursday night, 7 October 2021.

9pm to 5am

The deck surface will be smoothed and reinstated after pier repairs following the end of May flood.

Full night closure Sunday, 10 October 2021: 10pm to 5am. The detour route will be sign posted, but people need to build in some extra time.

The repair to the damaged pier will be completed by mid-October with scour protection work under the bridge going through to the end of October.

Walnut Ave – roundabouts becoming traffic signal intersections (includes SH1)

Sunday night, 3 October to Thursday night, 7 October 2021.

7pm to 6am

The roundabout islands at the intersections of East and West Streets are being removed and road seal replaced.

Find out more about the Walnut Avenue intersection improvements project, part of the Government’s NZ Upgrade programme

Tinwald, SH1 Archibald St with Agnes St/Lagmhor Road

Ground testing is happening this Monday night 4 October and possibly also Tuesday 5 October 2021. The noisy work will occur earlier in the night starting at 10pm. The work will be completed by 8am the following day.

There will be a detour for north-bound traffic along Melcombe St parallel to the main road but otherwise minimum delays.

Find out more about the SH1 Tinwald Corridor Improvements project

Plan ahead for a safe, enjoyable journey. Keep up to date with:

• COVID-19 services update: nzta.govt.nz/COVID19
• Traffic updates: journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic
• Facebook: facebook.com/NZTASouthIsland
• Twitter: twitter.com/WakaKotahiCWC
• Journey planner: journeys.nzta.govt.nz
• Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)

“With the major Kaikōura earthquake rebuild and complex resilience work completed, Waka Kotahi’s maintenance crews have a full programme of road rehabilitation to get underway leading into Christmas,” says Tresca Forrester, Journey Manager for Waka Kotahi.

“This work had to wait until the hill rockfall containment and safety work was sufficiently stabilised and all heavy vehicle activity at those sites was complete. Doing the work at night will help minimise the impact upon road users.”

Weld Pass night closures, moving south to North Canterbury

The work on SH1 south of Blenheim, through the Weld Pass, will get underway on Monday, 11 October 2021, involving night closures from 7pm – 6am for five nights, and opening on the hour every hour to let traffic through.

• There will be a second closure required in early December for a week which will revert back to two-hour openings. Times and days will be confirmed closer to the time and aim to align with the ferry schedules.

Crews will move south to Kekerengu and Mororimu North, north of Kaikōura leading into Labour Weekend, the Canopy and Punchbowl sites south of Kaikōura after Labour Weekend and North Canterbury sites at Omihi and Pukeko Junction mid November.

“We will avoid highway work during Labour Weekend (23-25 October 2021) and the Marlborough Anniversary weekend (30 October – 1 November 2021) which are traditionally big weekends for Kaikōura and Marlborough,” says Ms Forrester. 

“We understand the pressure our work sites have on the freight and supply chain and we will continue to work closely with them through this time and thank them for their patience.”

Further works will continue across State Highway 1 in the New Year, with further information to come early 2022. 

Ms Forrester urged people to take care around road crews along this frequently narrow and winding route south of Picton to Christchurch.

Map showing location of works between Christchurch and Picton.

Plan ahead for a safe, enjoyable journey. Keep up to date with:

• COVID-19 services update: nzta.govt.nz/COVID19
• Traffic updates: journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic
• Facebook: facebook.com/NZTASouthIsland
• Twitter Canterbury/West Coast: twitter.com/WakaKotahiCWC
• Journey planner: journeys.nzta.govt.nz
• Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)

The Waioeka Gorge’s geology, topography and climate conditions mean that the road is vulnerable to slips and rockfall which can result in lengthy road closures.

“Waka Kotahi is preparing a business case that will recommend the best ways to reduce the risk of long and medium-term closures while also making safety improvements and providing better access to communities through the Waioeka Gorge,” Regional System Design Manager Sarah Downs says.

“We’re considering a range of solutions across a number of sites, from monitoring equipment through to medium-scale construction projects, and we’re interested in what people think.

“We also want to make sure that we haven’t missed any sites where people think we should improve safety,” Ms Downs says.

The project team has met with iwi and community partners, stakeholders and technical specialists to develop the short list.

“We’re also collecting people’s stories about their experiences with previous closures of the gorge and what this meant for them, their whānau, community or business,” Ms Downs says.

“This could be anything from additional costs in fuel or accommodation, to missing important experiences, events and appointments. All feedback is all helpful in shaping the options that we will proceed with for the Waioeka Gorge.”

There is an online interactive map where people can see the site locations and photos, and make comments about those or at any other sites through the Gorge. Alternatively, people can also request a hard copy of these and provide written feedback.

Once the business case is complete, funding will be considered for design and construction.

People are invited to share their feedback before 1 November 2021 via:

• Online – www.nzta.govt.nz/WaioekaGorge
• Phone – 06 986 4589
• Post – Waka Kotahi Tairawhiti PO Box 1255, Gisborne.

Plan ahead for a safe, enjoyable journey. Keep up to date with:

• COVID-19 services update: nzta.govt.nz/COVID19
• Traffic updates: journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic/hawkes-bay
• Facebook: facebook.com/WakaKotahiHBG
• Twitter: twitter.com/WakaKotahiCNI
• Journey planner: journeys.nzta.govt.nz/hawkes-bay
• Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency consulted with the public earlier this year on proposed speed changes for this section of SH51, following calls from the community for speeds to be lowered and technical assessments of the road that showed it has a high crash risk.

“The region is growing fast and this road is one of the busiest in the area. People use it to get to work, school or the marae, to visit family or friends, or to go to the supermarket. Wherever they’re going, everyone should be able to get there and back safely,” Director of Regional Relationships Linda Stewart says.

“Safe speeds save lives. It can be the difference between someone being killed, seriously injured or walking away from a crash unharmed. That’s why we’re making the speed limits safer for everyone who uses this road.”

From 29 October 2021, the new permanent speed limits are:

Between 2010 and 2019, five people were killed and 28 seriously injured on SH51 between Marine Parade and Waipatu.

“Waka Kotahi is committed to creating a safe transport system so that we can achieve our vision of an Aotearoa where no one is killed or seriously injured on our roads. Tackling unsafe speeds is key to helping us achieve this vision,” Ms Stewart says.

“The new speed limits are the safe and appropriate speeds for this road and are more in line with speeds that people currently travel at on the road.

“Fewer serious crashes will also mean fewer closures, which will increase the reliability of this important route.”

Decisions on what the safer new speed limits will be were based on the technical assessment of the road, which considers things like crash history, road environment and speeds that people generally travel at, as well as feedback received during the consultation from the general public and stakeholders.

“We did not propose a speed limit reduction for the section of SH51 between St Georges Road and Ruahapia or extend the 60km/h section from Kenilworth Road further to include the Bay Espresso, due to the SH51 Waipatu Marae safety improvement project.

“This project is changing the road layout along this section of road, with widening and a flush median being installed. These safety improvements will enable safer turning and vehicle separation through this area,” Ms Stewart explains.

The consultation for the SH51 speed limit review was combined with the consultation and engagement of the State Highway 5 (SH5) speed review.

Waka Kotahi received a total of 455 individual submissions on SH51 speed limits during the consultation period. 192 of these are general comments that go across both SH51 and SH5.

“We thank everyone who provided their feedback on the proposed speed limits, as well as the councils, Police, the AA and Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand,” Ms Stewart says.

More information on the permanent speed limits and our consultation summary, including the submissions

A decision was made to complete the speed review for SH51 first as there was a smaller number of submissions and consequently less time was required to work through these than for the SH5 review.

Waka Kotahi will announce the decision for SH5 speeds once the review and technical analysis of the road is complete. This is expected by the end of the year.

Plan ahead for a safe, enjoyable journey. Keep up to date with:

• COVID-19 services update: nzta.govt.nz/COVID19
• Traffic updates: journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic/hawkes-bay
• Facebook: facebook.com/WakaKotahiHBG
• Twitter: twitter.com/WakaKotahiCNI
• Journey planner: journeys.nzta.govt.nz/hawkes-bay
• Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)