Recently crews in the Waikato completed a road rebuild in the township of Ōhaupō, south of Hamilton. The work took 6 weeks to complete.
This 520-metre-long structural asphalt road rebuild was extensive and complicated, digging down 450mm to remove the existing road surface and building it back up layer by layer to achieve a new smooth asphalt road surface which is amazing to drive on.
Rebuilds such as this one take weeks of meticulous planning and organising, ensuring not only the product is available, but also equipment and crews are rearing to go.
It was found that the underlying ground strength was very poor, so the new road was reconstructed using 4 layers of asphalt to build it back up to the original height. This work takes time and is checked regularly by pavement specialists as work progresses. Once the work is completed, the tick of approval is given, and the road environment can be returned to its normal state with all the traffic management removed and line marking reinstated.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) would like to acknowledge how disruptive this work was for residents, shop owners and the general travelling public. NZTA thanks everyone for their patience over the past 6 weeks.
This work forms part of the government’s $2.07 billion investment into road and drainage renewal and maintenance across 2024-27 via the State Highway Pothole Prevention fund.
SH3 Ōhaupō during road rebuild
SH3 Ōhaupō after road rebuild
To plan ahead and see where disruptive works are, people can use the NZTA Journey Planner (journeys.nzta.govt.nz(external link)) This is kept up to date in real time so you can see all disruptive activity and potential hazards on the state highway network.
Waikato & Bay of Plenty works as at 28 February 2025 [PDF, 639 KB]
