A week of warm, largely settled weather has allowed road workers across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty to make good progress at a number of sites.
Work continues to build momentum up until the Christmas/New Year, says Sandra King, Bay of Plenty System Manager at NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA).
“We’ve put a real emphasis on planning and collaborating on our maintenance work, with the aim to reduce overall disruption across the regions,” says Ms King.
Due to their long to-do lists, our contractors have spent a lot of time planning the best way to get work done by maximising productivity and minimising disruption.
“We’ve got some tight spots on the network where it’s not safe to have machinery working alongside moving vehicles. We’ve got other areas where there are multiple worksites close together. In these instances, we may need to close the road to get the right outcome for everyone.
“Closing the road has safety and quality benefits for crews and provides certainty for road users around how long it will take to get to their destination via a detour route. As it’s maintenance season, there can be roadworks on the alternative routes too, and road users need to plan for this.
“This can make planning tricky and developing the recommended detour isn’t as straight forward as many might imagine. We are managing the needs of many road users and local road maintenance programmes while balancing convenience, practicality, and safety.
The coming weeks sees closures in several locations, including State Highway 1 between Tīrau and Waiouru, State Highway 27 in Matamata and State Highway 35 at Te Kaha on the east coast.
This work forms part of the government’s $2.07 billion investment into road and drainage renewal and maintenance across 2024-27 via the State Highway Pothole Prevention fund.
The NZTA Journey Planner is the best place for information on the status of the state highway network. With live updates on worksites and other road hazards, Journey Planner can help road users plot the best route to their destination.
Journey Planner(external link)
This is kept up to date in real time so you can see all disruptive activity and potential hazards on the state highway network.
Waikato and Bay of Plenty state highway works as at 8 November 2024 [PDF, 315 KB]
