The State Highway 1 (SH1) Tīrau to Waiouru accelerated maintenance project is the largest and most ambitious maintenance and renewal project to be undertaken in New Zealand. It started in September 2024 on SH1 in central and southern Waikato.
The crew are currently working in the Tokoroa to upper Ātiamuri section, due to reopen next week – subject to the weather playing ball. This is one of the larger and more complex sites, spanning 17km and encompassing 4 separate work areas. To complete this large amount of work the road has been fully closed, which in the longer term, will cause less inconvenience for everyone.
Totally closing SH1 has enabled 3 trucks to be used at once to spray on the emulsified bitumen at a temperature of 80 degrees onto the foam bitumen underneath. This is followed by the chip seal being applied. A final surface of asphalt is then applied in a few weeks. Road closures increase productivity, and this has meant 3 days’ worth of sealing could be completed in one day.
Images below: Closing the SH1 Tokoroa to upper Ātiamuri section has enabled 3 days’ work to be completed in one day.
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.
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 15 November 2024 [PDF, 269 KB]
