Wet weather has delayed a planned milestone traffic switch on the Hamilton section of the Waikato Expressway.
Traffic was going to be moved on to the Cambridge Road bridge early on Saturday but this has been pushed out to Wednesday , 16 February.
The switch requires an overnight closure and detours on the preceding night. The road closures will begin from 6pm on Tuesday 15 February while barriers are moved and line-marking done.
The closure points are at the State Highway 1/State Highway 26 roundabout at Hillcrest and SH1/State Highway 21 interchange at Tamahere. The highway will reopen around 6am the following day (Wednesday 16 February).
Night-time travellers, especially freight, are encouraged to plan ahead and make use of alternative routes, such as State Highway 1B, State Highway 2-State Highway 27, State Highway 3,State Highway 39 and SH21.
Detours will be in place around the closure. Local residents will have access at all times, including into Tamahere via Newell Road at the city end and SH21-Airport Road to the south.
The traffic switch is needed to create construction space for the 22km Hamilton section, which is expected to be completed mid-year. Traffic will be moving on to what will be the southbound lanes but not the final surface. This creates space to complete the northbound lanes at the interchange.
All traffic will be moved on to the new bridge, which will eventually be the southbound on-ramp, for about six weeks before northbound traffic will return to using the on-ramp into the city.
If the work can’t be done on Tuesday night, the contingency is Wednesday.
People are encouraged to visit the Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Journey Planner website before they travel for up-to-date information on the road closure and works.
Journey Planner(external link)
Waka Kotahi thanks motorists for their patience.
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