Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is asking people to do their part to help keep traffic flowing between Napier and Hastings by thinking twice about whether they really need to travel, with load testing closing Waitangi bridge on State Highway 51 from 10am to 3pm tomorrow.
Load testing planned for 3rd March at Waitangi Bridge(external link)
The load testing is being done with the aim of reinstating the bridge to two lanes, which would help with the congestion currently being experienced on routes between Napier and Hastings, but Waka Kotahi is expecting the closure to cause significant delays across all routes between Napier and Hastings tomorrow, says Hawke's Bay and Gisborne Journey Manager, Andre Taylor.
"We're hoping it will be a case of a bit of short-term pain for long-term gain. We know how important this route is and being able to open it to two lanes is a high priority for us, our bridge engineers and the Hawke’s Bay community.
"If at all possible, we're asking people to work from home tomorrow and to delay non-urgent plans for outside the closure period to help keep the road clear for those who really need to travel - doctors, nurses and hospital staff, emergency services, critical workers and freight supplies."
While tomorrow's forecast is currently for fine weather in Napier, this work is weather dependent and may need to be postponed at short notice.
People should check the latest weather conditions with MetService(external link), and consult the Waka Kotahi Journey Planner(external link) website for the most up to date information on road closures.
For those who are still without internet access, please keep tuned to local radio for the latest Civil Defence advice. Local programmes are on The Breeze 97.5 and The Hits 89.5 and Civil Defence information on Newstalk ZB 96.7.
Journey Planner is updated 24/7 by Waka Kotahi traffic operations centres and is the best source of the most recent and reliable information available on state highway closures and disruptions. Remember to refresh the page when checking the status of highways to ensure that the latest updates are displayed.
