Work to make State Highway 1 Waikato Expressway safer between Rangiriri and Ōhinewai will get underway next month, with the southbound lane closed overnight for up to five nights to install 8.5km of temporary steel barriers.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Regional Manager Infrastructure Delivery Jo Wilton says the southbound lane of SH1 needs to be closed to enable the temporary steel barriers to be installed. The closure will not affect northbound traffic.
“The temporary steel barriers provide a safe work area, protecting construction workers from live traffic while they upgrade the state highway.
“We’re upgrading this section by installing roadside barriers, so it’s safer and more consistent with the rest of the Expressway. While the team is on the ground doing the work, we need to ensure they have a safe work environment.”
From Sunday 8 August, the southbound lane of SH1 between Rangiriri and Ōhinewai, will be closed overnight between 7pm and 7am, for up to five nights, weather permitting.
While SH1 is closed, all southbound traffic will be detoured from Rangiriri interchange via local roads to the Glen Murray Bridge, southbound along Te Ōhākī Road and across the Tainui Bridge at Huntly.
Motorists are asked to take extra care when travelling along the detour route by following any temporary speed limits, signs and instructions from the traffic management team.
The Glen Murray bridge is single lane and weight restricted, so it is recommended that heavy and oversized vehicles avoid the detour and use an alternative route, such as State Highway 2 and State Highway 27, or plan their journeys for outside the closure times.
In the event of bad weather or other unforeseen circumstances, work may be postponed. Visit the Waka Kotahi Journey Planner website for up to date information on the road closure, detours, traffic, road works and delays.
Journey Planner(external link)
Once the temporary steel barriers have been installed along SH1, the southbound speed limit at Ōhinewai will be 70km/h while the team make the safety improvements to the state highway. This work is expected to take up to two months.
Waka Kotahi thanks motorists for their patience.
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