Significant work to rebuild a section of State Highway 35 at Tolaga Bay will get underway from early next month.
As part of this work, the Uawa bridge will be closed on Sunday 6 November from 8.00am to 4.00pm for bridge abutment repairs.
During the closure, there will be a detour available via Tauwhareparae Road and Paroa Road. The detour will add approximately 20 minutes to journeys, dependent on origin and destination.
Pedestrian and cycle access over the bridge will be permitted. Those who walk or cycle are asked to follow the direction of traffic management staff on site to help ensure everyone’s safety.
If contractors are unable to finish the work on the Sunday, they will return on Monday (7 November) under Stop/Go traffic management, with the detour remaining in place for heavy vehicles only, to ensure contractors have enough space to work safely.
Following the bridge abutment repairs, the road will be down to one lane under Stop/Go traffic management between the bridge and Hinekura Road from Tuesday 8 to Thursday 17 November.
Work will take place between the hours of 6.00am and 6.00pm. Outside work hours the road will be open to two lanes with a 30km/h temporary speed limit in place.
There will be a detour in place for heavy vehicles only on 8 November, via Tauwhareparae Road and Paroa Road.
In the case of poor weather or other unforeseen circumstances, the bridge abutment work will be postponed until Tuesday 8 November. People are advised to visit the Waka Kotahi Journey Planner website for up-to-date information on the works.
Journey Planner(external link)
This work is part of a bumper summer maintenance programme for Tairāwhiti, that will see approximately 100 lane kilometres of state highway resealed or rebuilt – more than 15% of the region’s state highway network – alongside a considerable programme of emergency works, following the significant weather events earlier this year, as well as capital works, which include a number of SH35 Resilience and Passing Opportunity projects funded by Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit.
Waka Kotahi thanks everyone for their patience as we work to ensure safer and more resilient journeys on SH35 this summer.
