The NZ Transport Agency is urging people heading away for the long weekend to check out its new interactive maps to help them plan ahead and avoid delays.
Traffic volumes are usually significantly heavier at the beginning and the end of long weekends and holiday periods, so the Transport Agency’s travel information team has crunched the numbers from previous holiday periods to show where and when traffic is likely to be the heaviest.
Using the Highway Hotspots information for Queen’s Birthday Weekend, which is now available on the Transport Agency’s website, www.nzta.govt.nz/hotspots, customers can make informed decisions about the best time to travel to avoid the queues.
Auckland and Northland Highway Manager Brett Gliddon says the new interactive maps, which allow you to choose the routes you’re likely to travel, will give customers even better access to information about the routes they’re likely to travel.
“Last Queen’s Birthday weekend State Highway 1 heading both north to Puhoi and south to Takanini and State Highway towards Coromandel were busy from about 1pm on Friday through to the early evening and remained heavy through the middle of the day on Saturday.”
“As people head home again on Monday the heaviest traffic will be on State Highway 1, between Puhoi and Wellsford from lunchtime until around 6pm.”
“If everyone plans their travel in advance, and thinks about the best time to travel to avoid delays it will ease stress, making for a safer and more enjoyable journey.”
“We’re pleased people are making great use of our hot spot information to help plan their travel, but we also want to remind motorists that the hot spot predictions, which are based on previous congestion times, should be used alongside real time travel information.”
“We will have a range of technology and teams of people working throughout the long weekend to monitor traffic flows and incidents on the state highway network to provide up to the minute and accurate information on the best times to travel and less congested routes.”
Weather will also play a big role in determining the busiest peaks for people returning home again, so sign up to OnTheMove or check our Traffic and Travel pages at www.nzta.govt.nz for real time travel information or follow us on Facebook or on Twitter #QueensBirthdayTraffic.
Those planning to use the Northern Gateway Toll Road or the toll roads in Tauranga can also make their journey even more hassle free by prepaying their tolls at the Transport Agency toll roads page.
