Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency advises there will a full road closure this weekend on State Highway 1 north of Hikurangi to carry out essential road works.
SH1 will be closed in both directions about 1.5 kilometres north of Hikurangi between 8pm Friday, 19 March and 8pm Sunday, 21 March, says Waka Kotahi Northland System Manager, Jacqui Hori-Hoult.
There will be a posted detour in place that will add 10-20 minutes to the journey. The detour route includes two single lane bridges so there may be delays at busy times.
“We encourage people heading north from Whangarei or south from Kawakawa to travel on SH15 as an alternative to help reduce the number of vehicles using the SH1 detour route. This is also the preferred route for freight movements.”
The work is weather dependent and may be postponed at short notice until the following weekend.
Throughout this week and after the weekend closure, SH1 through the work site will be reduced to one lane with stop/go traffic management in place. All work is expected to be completed by Thursday, 25 March, a week before the busy Easter weekend.
The road repairs are on a 300 metre stretch of SH1 on the Otonga Flats, about 1.5 kilometres north of Hikurangi. Works began in the middle of March under stop/go traffic management to excavate and rebuild the road because of subsidence. The road has been under a temporary speed limit of 70 km/h because of the uneven surface, but that will be lifted once the work is completed.
While the road is closed there will also be separate work to fix a section of uneven road surface just north of the construction area that will give customers a smoother journey through the area.
The full road closure will allow road crews to safely work across the full width of the road to speed up rebuilding of the road surface. The works are due to be completed by Thursday, 25 March, a week before the busy Easter weekend.
Jacqui Hori-Hoult says road repairs don’t usually require a full road closure, but in this case on SH1, there will be huge benefits in efficiently and safely progressing the work and reducing disruption for the travelling public.
“Closing the road to all traffic brings an immediate safety benefit as it removes the risk for our crews of working alongside live traffic on a busy road. Safety is always our priority.”
“There are also huge efficiency gains in closing the road and working with day and night shifts. We can work across the full width of the road and have multiple crews working in different areas at the same time.”
“Throughout the road repairs, we urge people to be patient, plan their journeys, allow extra time and help keep our road crews safe. Safety is our priority – for all road users.”
Detour route
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