As work progresses on a hi-tech weigh station at Taupō, traffic will continue to be managed through works on the surrounding state highways and local roads.
Five sites leading to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Centre are having in-road weighing technology installed and these will be coned off for 30 days from late April/early May to cure the asphalt before the technology is installed advises NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA)
“So while it may look like nothing is happening beyond the cones, it is essential to give the asphalt time to cure and be ready for installing the weigh-in-motion scales,” says Regional Manager for Infrastructure Delivery, Darryl Coalter.
“The asphalt layer at each site needs time to harden and gain strength. The new layer needs to be undisturbed for 30 days so that it hardens sufficiently for contractors to make precise cuts into it to fit the weigh-in-motion weigh plates.
“We can’t remove the traffic management and run traffic over it because it has been laid at precise levels so the scales work properly when they are installed. We want to avoid the risk of the soft asphalt crumbling.”
The scales are being installed on 5 of the roads heading towards the safety centre:
Temporary lanes have been built on the road shoulders to allow traffic to pass around the work areas and minimise the use of stop/go or temporary detours. Speed restrictions are in place and only minor delays are expected.
The curing period will run from the end of April to the end of May.
The Taupō weight station is 1 of 12 facilities NZTA is building on high-volume freight routes around the country for NZ Police to operate. The safety centres are part of the national Commercial Vehicle Safety Programme.
This technology will screen passing traffic and direct any suspected non-compliant heavy vehicles into the safety centre. Police officers on site will check vehicle weights, road user charges, certificates of fitness, logbooks and driver impairment.
Read more about the Commercial Vehicle Safety Centres:
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Programme (CVSP)
