Road maintenance takes advantage of fine summer weather

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is taking advantage of continued fine weather in Auckland and Northland to push ahead with its summer road works programme.

All work sites and maintenance work on Northland state highways were shut down over the Christmas break until 6 January, but all crews are now back at work.

“Our crews completed 85 lane kilometres of road resurfacing before Christmas, but we plan to do another 130 lane kilometres before the end of summer,” says the Transport Agency’s Northland System Manager, Jacqui Hori-Hoult.

“Warmer spring and summer months are the best time for resurfacing as daylight hours are longer and the warm temperatures and dry air help the new seal stick to the road surface.”

“We are mindful of the extended holiday season in the region so we will keep new work on main routes to a minimum until after the Waitangi Day weekend (Thursday 6 February – Sunday, 9 February).”

“These summer works are part of the biggest maintenance programme the Transport Agency has undertaken for the last decade. We appreciate it can be frustrating for road users and local residents, but these important works help improve the road, increase safety and make everyone’s journeys more enjoyable.”

Road resurfacing is planned at:

• SH12 Waipoua Forest 11km of resealing through the forest in February. Pre-seal repairs were completed this month.
• Multiple sites of resealing south of Whāngārei on SH1 and SH16.
• SH1 Mangamuka Gorge resurfacing that will require closure of the state highway south of Kaitāia for a day in mid February.
• SH1 Kaitāia township – resurfacing at the Pak'nSave roundabout at the northern end of town.
• SH16 Kumeu urban area at SH16 Access Rd in March.

Road reconstruction works are planned at:

• SH14 one site between Whāngārei and Dargaville.
• SH12 two sites in the urban Dargaville township.
• SH12 One site south of Dargaville on SH12.
• SH10 Bulls Gorge in the Kerikeri area in February/March.
• SH1 south of Whāngārei between Oakleigh and Ruakākā.
• SH1 just south of Wellsford SH1.
• SH16 Kumeu urban area at SH16 Access Rd in March.

These works are in addition to ongoing construction sites and temporary speed limits on SH1 north of Auckland at Puhoi, the Dome Valley, the Brynderwyn Hills, Loop Road and Tārewa Road in Whāngārei.

Ms Hori-Hoult says it’s important that road users are patient and observe speed limits.

“Please slow down and keep to the temporary speed limits through our sites. Watch out for the road workers and follow the traffic management directions of the stop/go operators.”

You can view planned road works ahead of your journey by checking the NZTA real time journey planner(external link). The journey planner includes worksites, area warnings, traffic updates and state highways road works information.

 
Plan ahead for a safe, enjoyable journey. Keep up to date with:

• Traffic updates: nzta.govt.nz/traffic(external link)
• Facebook: facebook.com/nztaakl(external link)
• Twitter: twitter.com/nztaakl(external link)
• Journey planner: journeys.nzta.govt.nz(external link)
• Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)