District:
Emergency services are responding to a fire at a commercial premises on Great South Road, Takanini.
Great South Road, between Spartan Road and Manuroa Road, has been closed.
The southbound motorway off-ramp at Takanini has also been closed.
Motorists are asked to avoid the area and take an alternate route.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre
A full eastbound closure will be in place, with the SH16 St Lukes eastbound onramp closed.
For traffic travelling to SH1 there will be a signposted detour via Great North Road, Karangahape Road, Pitt Street to Hobson Street on-ramps.
For traffic travelling to the Ports there will be a signposted detour via Great North Road, Karangahape Road, Symonds Street and Grafton Road.
The team will be cutting concrete and carrying out resurfacing activities as part of the North Western Bus Improvement (NWBI) project.
We apologise in advance for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding as we complete this work.
That’s the message from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to motorists while a stretch of SH3, just south of Stratford, is closed for essential resurfacing works.
The detour is part of a large rebuild of more than two kilometres of SH3 between Finnerty and Bird Roads.
During this time, the signposted detour takes northbound traffic left at Climie Road and back onto Ōpunake Road and Celia Street before rejoining SH3.
“We’ve heard from our contractors that a number of road users are turning off Climie prematurely and onto Brookes Road,” says Waka Kotahi Manawatū-Whanganui / Taranaki System Manager Rob Service.
“It’s really important that Brookes Road is kept only for residents. Please follow the signposted detour route to minimise the risk to road user safety. Brookes Road is not suitable for the volume of traffic diverted from the state highway, nor is it safe or permitted for heavier vehicles.”
“Our contractors are making really good progress on site and are tracking ahead of schedule, and we need people to be patient and drive to the conditions while they complete this important work.
“The detour route has a temporary speed restriction in place and it’s really important road users adhere to these restrictions to ensure the safety of themselves and others,” says Mr Service.
“We also want to thank motorists for their patience, as we know how frustrating delays can sometimes be.”
Crews have completed the first stage of work – between Climie and Finnerty Roads – two weeks ahead of schedule and are scheduled to have both the second and third sections of work sealed by Friday 31 March, weather permitting. This is earlier than the initially scheduled completion date of 29 April.
The two remaining sections, located at the intersection of SH3 and Climie Road, and SH3 between Climie Road and Bird Road respectively, are being completed concurrently under a combination of stop/go traffic controls and a detour for northbound traffic to enable a shorter construction period overall.
Once sealed, the sites will be monitored, swept and line marked during off peak hours before the road is fully reopened and temporary speed restrictions removed.
“An old culvert is being replaced with a larger, more resilient culvert ahead of winter,” says Waka Kotahi Maintenance Contract Manager Moira Whinham.
The section of road closed is between the SH67/ SH6 intersection at the entrance to Westport and Inangahua Junction/ intersection with SH69.
The only other route into and out of Westport is via the Coast Road, SH6, south to Punakaiki and Greymouth while SH6 to the east/ Murchison is closed.
Emergency vehicles will be accommodated through the Lower Buller Gorge for the two days of closure.
This work is weather dependent so if it is wet, it may be rescheduled for the next fine day. “We appreciate this work will be inconvenient for many users of the Murchison to Westport highway and thank people for scheduling their trips to make the 1 pm to 1.30 pm opening spot on those two days,” says Moira Whinham.
Electronic signs will update the closures at each end and advise of any changes.
There will be a full road closure for five nights (weather dependent) between Sunday 26 March and Thursday 30 March from 9pm to 5am.
This is rescheduled works due to unfavourable weather in February.
Prior to these works, road resurfacing will take place on the southbound lane of State Highway 1 at the Top of the Dome. This work is planned for Thursday 23 March between 8pm and 5am under stop/go traffic controls. Resurfacing of the northbound lane will be completed at this site while the Dome Valley closure is in place as above.
Those travelling between Auckland and Wellsford are advised to use SH16.
During the closure, State Highway 1 will be closed to all traffic between Wellsford and Warkworth. A detour will be in place between Woodcocks Road, West Coast Road, Kaipara Coast Highway and Port Albert Road.
For up-to-date information on road works, traffic, detours and delays, drivers are encouraged to visit the Waka Kotahi Journey Planner website.
We thank you in advance for your patience an understanding while we undertake these works.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has decided upon a solution to restore State Highway 23 between Raglan and Whatawhata, which was damaged by a serious underslip in February, with the anticipated re-opening in May.
A temporary diversion road was opened on 4 March to skirt the underslip that had closed the highway; this has allowed geotechnical experts to thoroughly investigate the site, and for the best remedy to be decided.
Jo Wilton, Waka Kotahi Regional Manager Infrastructure Delivery for Waikato and Bay of Plenty, says a number of options were considered.
“As the ground conditions under the slope were worse than expected, it soon became clear that the best solution was to build a geosynthetic-reinforced retaining wall, which will have concrete piles drilled deep in the hillside to support it.”
The piles are known as ‘continuous flight auger piles’. At SH23 these are being drilled to a depth of 12m, with concrete then injected through the auger drill as it is slowly removed, creating a continuous pile without ever leaving an open hole.
The crew prepare to begin drilling the concrete piles deep into the hillside – 16 March 2023
“It’s a robust and cost-effective solution,” says Ms Wilton. “It will deliver peace of mind to people who rely upon this crucial link between Raglan and Hamilton, providing resilience for the future.”
The rig was established on site and drilling began last week (17 March), and is anticipated to take around 10 days.
Following that, building the retaining wall will take around another fortnight.
With resurfacing work, installation of guard rails and lane markings needed to complete the project, Waka Kotahi is aiming for the highway to reopen in May – though this will depend on the weather throughout the project.
Waka Kotahi is grateful for the generous co-operation of the landowners, which enabled work to begin on the temporary diversion road within days of the initial underslip. Ms Wilton says once the original highway is re-opened, the project crew will work on restoring the affected properties, including fencing, planting and landscaping.
The section of SH23, known as the Raglan Deviation, began to crack in late January, when the ground was saturated following unprecedented rainfall.
The cracks soon turned into an underslip, which significantly worsened after Cyclone Gabrielle, with a 30m long section of highway dropping around 2.5m.
For more information and updates:
SH23 Whatawhata to Raglan repairs
SH6 Dellows Bluff rockfall, July 2022
The intention is to reduce, as much as possible, the risk of more boulders falling onto the highway.
As this involves blasting to remove unstable rocks and material from the cliff face, brief road closures are needed for safety reasons.
Waka Kotahi wants to thank residents and road users for their cooperation and patience while this vital maintenance work is done. The work has been timed to minimise disruption as much as possible.
Drivers are also asked to respect road work signs and temporary speed limits. This is for your safety and that of our work crews.
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The works require the stretch of road around the culvert to be closed for a 48 hour period between 8am next Wednesday (19 April) and 8am on Friday (21 April).
The collapsed culvert has been under temporary traffic management since the cyclone.
“This is a significant and essential piece of work to further strengthen the resilience of the road following Cyclone Gabrielle. We had originally planned to install the relief culvert in March, but following consultation with the community, it was postponed until next week,” says Hawke’s Bay/Tairāwhiti System Manager Martin Colditz.
“We’ve worked closely with communities affected to consider the needs of people and animal welfare including farmers who told us they were needing to get stock to market in a timely manner.
“We’re asking people to avoid the area next week as there is no detour available during this closure.
“We know this will cause disruption and stress to local communities and we want to thank residents for their understanding during this time.
“Waka Kotahi has also been working closely with Wairoa District Council to ensure this work is carried out in the safest, quickest way possible.”
