Work gets underway this week on improvements to the State Highway 2 Wharerata Road Lookout rest area and carpark, about 45 minutes south of Gisborne.
For the next 2 months, ahead of the summer holiday season, crews will rebuild the rest area and car park and lay new asphalt, alongside installing new street furniture so people pulling off the state highway have an improved area to check their phones, make a call or just take a break before continuing their journey.
Subject to weather conditions, crews will be active on site between 6am and 6pm, Monday to Saturday, and during this time the shoulder approaching the rest area and carpark will be closed with a reduced temporary speed limit in place of 30km/h. At times the passing lane approaching the rest area and carpark may also be temporarily closed for the safety of crews.
Throughout the works the rest area and carpark will be closed 24/7 to all vehicles.
Two lanes of traffic on the state highway will remain flowing and there should be little disruption to journeys.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi wants to thank those who will be inconvenienced by the temporary closure of the rest area and carpark for their understanding while these improvements happen.
This work is part of Connecting Tairāwhiti, which is a programme of projects providing more slow vehicle bays and more places to pull off the road safely to check messages or take a break on State Highways 2 and 35 across the Tairāwhiti and northern Hawke’s Bay regions. The programme also includes some resilience projects to strengthen and stabilise sites on State Highway 35 to help it remain open and functional during disruptions such as weather events.
