Allow extra time for Labour Weekend journeys in Northland

Motorists travelling on State Highway 1 in Northland over Labour Weekend are advised there are several construction sites along the way that may cause congestion and affect journey times.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Senior Manager Project Delivery Andrew Thackwray says construction crews won’t be working over the long weekend but there will be temporary speed limits and other traffic management strategies in place.

“We want everyone to arrive safely at their destinations. While we will try to keep inconvenience and delays from road works to a minimum, we urge people to be patient, plan their journeys and allow extra time.“

“It’s especially important that drivers reduce their speed through construction areas where the lanes may be narrower because of steel barriers and road cones.”

SH1 construction sites heading north from Auckland:  

• SH1 Dome Valley safety improvements – two work site locations, just north of Kaipara Flats Road and further north near the Hoteo Bridge. Speed limit reduced to 70km/hr and steel barriers along the roadside in these locations.
• SH1 Brynderwyn Hills – retaining wall repair on the southern side. Road reduced to one lane in each direction with a steel barrier, closure of the northbound passing lane and a 30km/hr speed limit.
• SH1 Loop Road intersection roundabout construction – road cones, steel roadside barriers and 50km/hr speed limit through the site area.
• SH1 Tarewa Road intersection improvements– road re-alignment has traffic using the northbound lanes and a 50km/h speed limit.

The Transport Agency’s road resealing programme is under way in Northland with 105 lane kilometres of state highway to be completed before Christmas. However, all resealed roads to date will be line marked and without speed restrictions over Labour Weekend.

To help plan your weekend travel, use the Transport Agency’s journey planner which shows predicted traffic flow across popular journeys based on travel patterns from previous years. It can be found at www.nzta.govt.nz/holidayjourneys

Because predicted peak times can change based on incidents, weather and even driver behaviour we suggest that you check https://www.nzta.govt.nz/traffic-and-travel-information/(external link) before you leave for accurate information about current road and traffic conditions.

The holiday journeys site shows the busiest time heading north from Auckland is on Friday between 1:30pm and 7pm between Puhoi and Warkworth. On Saturday, it’s heaviest between 11am and 1pm. Coming home on Monday, expect the most traffic between 11am and 7pm.

Heading south out of Auckland, the heaviest traffic at Takanini is between 2pm and 7pm on Friday. Coming back, the motorway into Auckland is busiest on Monday between 11:30 and 5:30pm.

When driving this Labour Weekend, take care to

• Drive to the conditions, whether it’s the weather, the time of day or amount of traffic
• Take regular breaks to stay alert and ensure fatigue doesn’t affect your driving
• Keep a safe following distance from vehicles in front so you can stop safely   
• Be patient - overtaking is unlikely to make a significant difference to your journey time due to the amount of traffic expected over the weekend.
• Allow plenty of time, remember you are on holiday and avoid the need to rush
• Check your car is in good “health” before you head off.  

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

• Traffic updates: govt.nz/traffic(external link)
• Facebook: facebook.com/nztaakl(external link)
• Twitter: twitter.com/nztaakl(external link)
• Journey planner: journeys.nzta.govt.nz(external link)
• Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)