Road users of State Highway 1 in Hātepe, south of Taupō, are advised that four weeks of essential road maintenance work commences on Sunday 6 March. This work will be completed in two stages to minimise delays whilst ensuring the work is completed safely for both road users and crews on site.
The first stage at the northern end of the passing lanes sees approximately 350m of road renewed using foam bitumen stabilisation. Foam bitumen stabilisation is a technique that adds bitumen and water to existing road material to improves the strength of the road. It is much quicker than standard road rebuilding techniques, which means less disruption to road users.
This work is expected to take a week to complete, with crews on site overnight from 6pm until 6am. During work hours the road will be under stop/go traffic management, with priority given to uphill (northbound) vehicles, to prevent trucks having to stop on the incline.
Following the completion of the first stage, the second stage sees 2km of the left-hand uphill lane closed so it can be rebuilt and resurfaced. This work will commence Monday 14 March, and the lane will be closed 24 hours a day for approximately three weeks. The first of these weeks will see stop/go traffic management, before one lane is available in each direction for the two subsequent weeks.
Waka Kotahi acknowledges that northbound vehicles will not be able to use the passing lane during the second half of the work. The closure of this lane ensures the safety of work crews and road users, with the benefit being improved efficiency and an overall shorter work period. Once the work is complete road users will enjoy a smoother ride through the Hātepe area.
This work is part of the wider summer maintenance programme, which sees over 15% of the wider Central Waikato network being renewed or resealed between October 2021 and March 2022.
Waka Kotahi thanks road users for their patience while this work is carried out.
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