Upcoming night works for SH1 north of Taihape

Roading crews in Manawatū-Whanganui are preparing for the upcoming spring/summer construction season, starting with a site just north of Taihape first to kick off the season.

From Monday 2 October, State Highway 1/Mataroa Road between Goldfinch Street and Abattoir Road will be reduced to one lane overnight while the road is replaced and the area’s drainage improved.

The works will be done under stop/go traffic with a reduced speed limit in place, and will take approximately seven weeks.

During the work, approximately one kilometre of road surface will be removed and replaced with new material before being resurfaced. Crews will return in approximately 12 months to add the second coat of seal.

To minimise disruption on this section of the network, the work will be carried out at night between 6pm and 6am. Crews will work every night between Sunday (6pm) and Saturday morning (6am). The work is weather dependant. The road is expected to be fully reopened to two lanes in mid-November.

Waka Kotahi System Manager for Manawatū-Whanganui and Taranaki Liesl Dawson is reminding road users that the stop/go traffic management will add about 10 minutes to people’s journey times through this section of SH1.

“We want to thank motorists for their patience while crews work to make this section of road as resilient as possible.”

Other upcoming work through this area of SH1:

Please be prepared to see crews out and about on our state highway network with a range of rebuilding and resurfacing programmes planned throughout spring and summer.

• SH1 – Hunterville: Crews will be working on maintenance of the underlying road structure just north of Hunterville from 25 September – 29 September. Stop/go will be in place with delays of 5-10 minutes expected.
• SH1 – Wing’s Line, Marton: Crews will be working on maintenance of the underlying road structure from the 2 October – 20 October.
• SH1 – Utiku: Monitoring is ongoing at Utiku, just south of Taihape, due to the slow slip. A 30km/h speed limit remains in place through the area.

During the spring/summer maintenance period, Waka Kotahi advises all road users to keep an eye on our interactive Journey Planner website for up to date information around road closures.

Waka Kotahi Journey Planner(external link)

“Traffic management and temporary speed restrictions are put in place during roadworks, to keep everyone safe. Please follow those instructions, drive to the conditions and be patient through work sites,” says Ms Dawson.

“We know delays during summer roadworks can be frustrating at times, but it’s important these permanent works and resurfacing are carried out during warm, dry weather. The same work isn’t as effective in the colder, wetter months.”