Motorists are being advised of long delays on State Highway 1 near Whangarei this afternoon after a passing lane closure at Mata for maintenance work resulted in a 5km queue of southbound traffic.
The NZ Transport Agency was resealing a one-kilometre section of the highway from Hewlett Road to Totara Road, as part of its annual summer maintenance works programme, when a queue of traffic began to form at about 1pm.
The Agency’s Northland and Auckland North Journey Manager Jacqui Hori-Hoult says the work was stopped and the lane re-opened at about 2pm, however it was taking time to clear the queue because of the large numbers of motorists heading south.
“The delays are being compounded by the loose chip that still remains on the highway. Motorists are travelling through the area well below the 50km/h speed restriction which means it is taking extra time to clear the queue of traffic which extends back to Whangarei.”
Ms Hori-Hoult says the Transport Agency apologises for the delays and the inconvenience that had been caused to motorists. “We hope to have traffic fully flowing again by early evening and will resume the work in off-peak hours.”
For more information please contact:
Jan McCarthy
Media Manager - Christchurch
T: 03 964 2885
M: 021 427 442
E: jan.mccarthy@nzta.govt.nz
