Heavy rain and potential thunderstorms are on the way for the top of the north island – including the Waikato tomorrow – so road users heading to Fieldays are advised to take care.
Metservice has watches in place around the motu and has also issued a heavy rain warning for the Bay of Plenty tomorrow. Drivers heading into Mystery Creek from the Bay should drive to the conditions.
Check the MetService and Journey Planner websites before setting off to and from Fieldays or travelling through the area.
MetService(external link)
Journey Planner(external link)
Tomorrow, Friday 14 June, is expected to be a big day at the agricultural event and there will be large volumes of traffic in and around the area.
A reminder that State Highway 21 Airport Road, State Highway 1 and State Highway 1C interchange at Tamahere are likely to be severely congested through to end of Saturday 15 June, with motorists encouraged to plan ahead and expect long queues and delays.
This year NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) is trialling the closure of the SH21 northbound lane, between the SH21 Airport Road Raynes Road intersection and Tamahere intersection. This lane will be closed tomorrow from 7am to 10am. The closure is working well and reducing tailbacks on SH1 during the morning traffic peak. People travelling through the area but not to Fieldays are advised to use SH3 and SH1C to go south and north. People travelling from SH1 to Fieldays on SH21 Airport Road will not be affected. Through traffic is limited to people living around SH21 Airport Road and school traffic travelling to and from Tamahere School and Educare.
There are several free buses travelling to and from Fieldays every day. Regional buses and Hamilton City buses can be taken free to the Hamilton Transport Centre, and then out to Gate 1 at Fieldays, Mystery Creek. A valid 2024 National Fieldays ticket must be presented to the driver. Regional buses include those from Raglan, Cambridge, Te Awamutu, Paeroa, Te Aroha, Morrinsville, Huntly, Taumarunui, Te Kūiti and Tokoroa. Buses to Fieldays will depart from Hamilton Transport Centre approximately every 30 minutes from 7am to 11am returning from 1pm to 5.30pm.
Visit the Fieldays website for more information on public transport options.
While the event is on, people are encouraged to use SH3 or consider alternative routes or travel arrangements.
Getting to Fieldays(external link)
Real-time updates on traffic conditions around Mystery Creek(external link)
