Northwestern Bus Improvement project.

We are currently monitoring the situation and motorists are encouraged to follow the signs and drive with caution.

While signage and information was shared in advance of the works, additional signage will be put in place to provide more information in time for peak hour this afternoon.

To allow for the works to finish as safely as possible, a full night closure from St Lukes to Newton Road will remain in place as planned. All new lanes and subsequent signage will be complete in the early hours of Thursday 30 March.

Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

This crucial link in the state highway network was opened last week to daylight traffic (between 7am and 7pm).

Contractors continued last week to work on 32 cyclone damaged sites along SH5.

Waka Kotahi’s Central North Island Regional Manager of Maintenance and Operations, Jaclyn Hankin says contractors have now got the road to the point where it can safely be opened at night.

The decision to open 24/7 was made earlier today, following a night time drive by Waka Kotahi last night.

“While the daytime opening has alleviated a lot of pressure, we know how important it is, especially for the freight community, to be able to drive the road at night.

“Our contractors have done an amazing job, to firstly get a bypass built around the slip between Te Pohue and Glengarry, and to continue strengthening other sites.

“While the road is safe to drive, there are still several damaged sites along the route, so motorists should prepare for lower speeds in a number of places which will lead to delays.

“It has been a tremendous effort to get this road ready for around the clock access, less than a month and a half after such a damaging cyclone, and Waka Kotahi would like to thank everyone who’s worked on the road.

“We’re also incredibly grateful for the patience and resilience of the communities alongside SH5 – we know this has been a disruptive time and we hope re-opening the road 24/7 will further strengthen the connection to essential services and supplies,schools, work and friends and whanau,” says Ms Hankin.  

Waka Kotahi is also reminding road users of a planned one hour closure near Te Haroto on SH5 tomorrow, from 11am to midday,  to allow 4,500 sheep to be moved along the road to Tarawera Station. This closure will be managed under temporary traffic management and stop/go control.

The review was undertaken by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, working with its Connecting Dunedin partners, Otago Regional Council and Dunedin City Council.

• At today’s Dunedin City Council meeting councillors voted in favour of retaining the one-way, enhanced state highway system along Cumberland and Castle Streets flanking the new Dunedin Hospital. 

Key issues considered in the review were safety, accessibility, levels of service for pedestrians, cyclists and the wider public. The review looked at ways of achieving improved amenity values, safer and easier access for staff, patients and visitors, given the new Dunedin Hospital is being constructed between the two currently one-way, SH1 streets.

Background

In late 2021, Waka Kotahi endorsed the Shaping Future Dunedin Transport Programme Business Case jointly developed with the Dunedin City Council (DCC) and Otago Regional Council (ORC). It included an enhanced one-way system as part of wider transport improvements driven by the new Dunedin Hospital build. Dunedin City Councillors at the time voted for continuing discussions with Waka Kotahi on the future form of the SH1 one-way system, with the two-way option as a starting point. 

Waka Kotahi Director of Regional Relationships James Caygill says this review is a key step in ensuring a safe and accessible transport system for Dunedin’s CBD and the new hospital for many years to come. It also needs to offer people travel choices and more attractive public spaces with significantly improved amenity. 

“The key difference comes down to the fact that the two-way option would largely benefit Cumberland St, but the enhanced one-way option would add amenity values to both Cumberland and Castle Streets,” says Mr Caygill. 

“The one-way enhanced option provided the best overall balance of attractive and usable spaces for people and pedestrian access improvement across the length of the corridors.” 

Mr Caygill says the enhanced one-way option sees a marginal reduction in operational performance of SH1 compared to what currently exists, with lower traffic volumes due to the lower speed environment and greater use of the harbour arterial.

Whereas the two-way option has much less overall network capacity with more delays at intersections, more traffic switching to the harbour arterial and other central city roads. This would increase central city travel times, with longer delays at some key intersections and more congestion at peak times. 

Both options would require the removal of some on-street parking to make it safer and more pleasant for the large number of pedestrians who would be using these streets around the hospital in future.

Health aspects

A Health Impact Assessment completed for both SH1 options also provided important suggestions as to how to improve the design of any final solution. 

Among the suggestions being actively considered were lower speed limits, better highway crossing facilities, traffic reductions including fewer heavy vehicles in the vicinity of the new hospital and greater safety for cyclists at intersections. Seating and landscaping to create more people-friendly surroundings on the highway links to the new Dunedin Hospital and nearby areas was also included, Mr Caygill says.  

The review found changes to the configuration of St Andrew Street would provide opportunities to increase pedestrian amenity and safety while reducing traffic volumes on this road between the two new hospital blocks, without significantly affecting the operation of the wider roading network. Work and initial consultation started in 2022 on future changes for St Andrew Street.

St Andrew Street consultation – background information

Next steps

Following the formal resolution by the Dunedin City Council today, Waka Kotahi will continue to work with its partners (ORC and DCC) on the next steps each party will be taking to improve transport options around Dunedin.

Shaping future Dunedin transport – full report

Contractors will carry out resealing work on the highway near the Koromiko Bridge. Because of the restricted nature of the road and the planned works area, the highway will have to be fully closed while this work is done. There is no detour available at this location. The road will be reopened briefly every half hour to let queued traffic through.

The asphalt resealing is scheduled to be done between 1 am and 5 am on Tuesday, 4 April. A contingency option has been scheduled for 5 April if the works are delayed by bad weather or unforeseen circumstances.

(Image: Koromiko Bridge, State Highway 1)

The resealing has been timed to create as little disruption as possible to road users and residents. Closing the highway also allows the work to be done much more quickly than if it was carried out during the day using stop/go traffic management.

Waka Kotahi wants to thank drivers for their patience and understanding while this work is completed. Regular maintenance work like this is vital to keeping the highway safe for all road users.

While some sites such as Te Ara o Te Ata: Mt Messenger Bypass have been underway for some time, network-wide road resurfacing and resealing are taking place next week, along with the commencement of works on Te Ara Tutohu Waitara to Bell Block to create a new roundabout and underpass.

This combination of important projects for the Taranaki region and the final stretch of road renewals for the summer season will cause additional travel time, says Jaclyn Hankin, Central North Island Regional Manager, Maintenance & Operations at Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.

“It is going to be a busy couple of weeks, and road users can expect up to an extra hour added to their daily travel between New Plymouth and Hamilton. We acknowledge that this is significant, however the benefits will be seen over winter and beyond.

“Completing our resealing programme ensures the state highway network is in the best possible condition ahead of the colder, wetter weather over winter. Having new waterproof surfaces prevents water entering the road structure, and this reduces the potential for potholes to develop.

“Projects like Te Ara o Te Ata: Mt Messenger Bypass and Te Ara Tutohu Waitara to Bell Block will in time see safer corridors available for all road users. This benefits the region now through employment opportunities, and in the future through increased safety and travel efficiency.”

To avoid getting stung when travelling on the state highway network, the Journey Planner is the best tool to view up to date conditions.

“Checking the Journey Planner before leaving for your destination will give you a real-time view of the number of roadwork sites on any planned route,” says Ms Hankin. “Users can also see in the real time the best route to take based on any detours or delays.”

Journey Planner

Ahead of the Easter Holidays all roadwork sites will be shut down by midday on Thursday 6 April, before works recommence at 8am Tuesday 11 April.

A full list of worksites on SH3 between Hamilton and New Plymouth, in descending order:

Road users are also advised that SH39 is currently closed at the northern end of Pirongia due to a road rehabilitation site, which will be complete on Friday 31 March. A detour via Te Awamutu is in place.

The work will run over 12 hours, 6 am to 6 pm and affect traffic in both directions.The work will run over 12 hours, 6 am to 6 pm and affect traffic in both directions.

SH1 will be closed at the rail crossing and the northbound and southbound traffic detoured onto local roads.

The detours are split to ensure all traffic including heavy vehicles can be accommodated. Electronic signs are in place to pre-warn people of this closure on Saturday.

If it is wet, this work will be pushed out to the next suitably dry day. Waka Kotahi thanks all drivers for their patience on the detour routes.

Northbound traffic will turn left onto Reilly Road, right onto Hawke Road then left back onto SH1. • Southbound traffic will turn left onto Muff Road, right onto Factory Road, right onto Rise Road then left back onto SH1, close to Winchester.

SH1 Winchester, between the intersection of Reilly Road and Hawke Road live updates

Map showing the two detours – the southbound detour (dark blue line to the south of the main highway) is longer than the northbound detour (green line below).

The site of the repairs, near the Reilly Road intersection.