State Highway 2 over the Remutaka Hill road closes for its annual maintenance and slip prevention work on various nights between January and November 2024. The schedule is available on this page. The highway may have to close at other times for emergency works, weather or accidents.
|
Number of nights closed |
Start 9pm |
Finish 4am |
|
5 |
Sunday 3 November |
Friday 8 November |
|
5 |
Sunday 10 November |
Friday 15 November |
|
5 |
Sunday 17 November |
Friday 22 November |
|
5 |
Sunday 24 November |
Friday 29 November |
|
5 |
Sunday 1 December |
Friday 6 December |
Due to a major slip off the side of the road on the Remutaka Hill, urgent closures are required at night-time for approximately up to 9 weeks from Monday 7 October to early December.
To prevent the slip from deteriorating and severely disrupting the road, urgent repairs are required to construct a retaining wall at the slip site. The slip site is in a very narrow and winding spot of the hill, so the repairs must be done under a full closure for safety, efficiency and preventative purposes.
At all other times, 24/7, there will be stop/go traffic controls in place near the slip site. This is because it is not safe for two-way traffic to pass the slip site. This will cause traffic congestion during the day for up to 9 weeks.
Light vehicles can be escorted over the hill at certain times behind a pilot vehicle – check the booking form for these times. Bookings are essential and should be made using the form below. Heavy vehicles, such as semi-trailers, cannot be escorted over the hill during the closure.
For Sunday night closures, bookings close at 4pm the Friday prior. For weeknight closures, bookings close at 4pm the day of.
Remutaka Hill closure escort booking form(external link)
Please direct any additional enquiries to customer@wta.nzta.govt.nz
Access will be available for 'flashing light' emergency services throughout the closures.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to make the road safer.
ClosePile installation and foundation works at the underslip site on State Highway 2 Remutaka Hill have continued this week. The piles and foundation are critical elements for the retaining wall, which will restore the road and protect it from further damage.
We have completed installation of 12 out of 15 piles. We expect to complete the final three pile installations next week and begin timber construction for the retaining wall. Rock anchor testing has been completed to ensure the next phase of work remains on track.
Crews will also be busy during the day next week, as they start installing rock anchors to provide extra reinforcement to the hillside.
Our crews have also been completing routine maintenance to make the most of the night-time closures. This has included road resurfacing, line marking, drainage renewals, channel clearing and barrier and sign installations. This helps us get ahead on next year's maintenance schedule.
The SH2 Remutaka Hill road is the main artery linking the Wellington and Wairarapa regions, with an average of 7,219 vehicles using the road daily.
Of these, around 256 use the road between 9pm and 4am. With the nearest detour route over 100km away, effective maintenance of the road is critical for both the Wellington and Wairarapa communities.
The safest and most efficient way to maintain the road, is to close it. This avoids more frequent disruptions and helps keep our crews safe.
Following consultation in 2019, we found the best way to carry out maintenance work was to do block closures and we will continue to do this in the future to keep the road safe.
The only detour is via State Highways 1, 57 and 3. As this is very long detour, we advise vehicles to travel early if possible or book an escorted crossing. There will be detour signs in place during this time.
Travelling from the Hawkes Bay?
Vehicles travelling from the Hawkes Bay region needing to head south of the Remutaka Hill should detour at Woodville and travel via Ashurst to get to State Highways 3, 57 and 1.
CloseThere is a lot of work that takes place during the Remutaka Hill road closures. Taking full advantage of the road closure, we schedule as much work as possible to avoid other disruptions while the road is open.
Rockfall protection work is carried out to protect the road from slips which can cause major disruption. This work involves clearing vegetation and loose rocks and then installing netting which is designed to catch loose material as it falls.
CloseMaintenance work we complete on the hill is one of the most important things we do to keep the hill safe. We schedule as much maintenance work as possible during each closure. At any time during the closure there could be up to 100 crew members doing a variety of activities. This includes:
New side barriers at high-risk locations, along the Remutaka Hill will be installed. Also more motorcycle under-barriers will be installed, to improve safety for motorcyclists. The improvements include improved road signage and road markings too.
CloseLearn more about the importance of regular SH2 Remutaka Hill road maintenance night closures.
Crew operating a milling machine along the Remutaka Hill.
Crew installing an under barrier which are designed to protect motorcyclists if they crash.
