The NZ Transport Agency says highway traffic will take top priority during planned State Highway 1 (SH1) closures south of Cambridge this month, and motorists should expect only minor delays.
Approximately 12,000 cubic meters of sand must be moved from the west side of SH1 across to the east side, as work on the Cambridge section of the Waikato Expressway continues.
The sand will be used as fill material to complete the embankments for the Southern Interchange bridge, where the future Waikato Expressway will deliver traffic back to SH1.
The Transport Agency’s Waikato Expressway senior project manager, Raj Rajagopal, said both lanes of SH1 will be closed for no more than three minutes at a time to allow the construction haul trucks to cross the highway.
The work to move the landfill will start on Monday September 22 and is expected to be complete within a month, weather permitting.
“The temporary closures will be between the hours of 9am and 3pm to avoid peak traffic,” Mr Rajagopal said.
“We also have manual stop/ go traffic management rather than traffic signals in place, so queues can be quickly identified and dealt with to allow SH1 traffic to keep flowing.
“We understand there will be some inconvenience to motorists but we are focused on making this as painless as possible and we expect travellers to experience only minor delays.
“Highway traffic flow will remain our top priority during this work.”
The Transport Agency thanks motorists for their patience and understanding while these works are carried out.
For real time information on highway conditions and incidents visit www.nzta.govt.nz(external link) call 0800 4 HIGHWAYS or follow @nztawaibop on twitter.
For personalised information about driving conditions on their frequently used routes, motorists can check out and sign up to On The Move at www.onthemove.govt.nz.(external link)
For more information please contact:
Natalie Dixon
Media Manager
Waikato and Bay of Plenty region
NZ Transport Agency
T: 07 928 7908
M: 021 928413
E: natalie.dixon@nzta.govt.nz
