SH1 will be closed from the SH1/SH32 Tokoroa intersection to the SH1/SH30 intersection north of Ātiamuri (known to most as the Kinleith area). The closure will start at 5am Monday 7 October 2024.
This is the biggest section of work undertaken and is the longest closure so far. This site is one of the larger and more complex ones, spanning 17km and encompassing four separate work areas, ranging from 2.9km to 5.7km in length.
SH1 between Tokoroa and upper Ātiamuri will partially re-open at noon on Thursday 21 November 2024. The southern section of this zone, from Kinleith Road to upper Ātiamuri, will be opened under traffic management. The northern section between Campbell Road and Kinleith will remain closed until approximately 27 November 2024 (to be confirmed).
The partial reopening means the length of the detours will be reduced. The new detour for light vehicles will now be SH32, Old Taupō Road, Kinleith Road and vice versa. Heavy vehicles should continue to use SH5/SH30.
Emergency services will have full access through all parts of the site at all times.
All through traffic, ie SH1 traffic heading to and further south will be detoured via SH32 and SH30 (also known as Maraetai Road in Tokoroa, Whakamaru Road and Ongaroto Road in Ātiamuri) and vice versa. This will add approximately 16 minutes (23km) to journey times.
Local freight (say those travelling from Taupō to Tokoroa/Kinleith Mill) can utilise SH30/32, and freight travelling further north eg Port of Tauranga, Hamilton to use SH5/30 instead.
At the Tokoroa end, our main worksite starts on SH1 near Campbell Road, but we cannot put the road closure there as we need to detour those on longer journeys down appropriate state highways.
There will be a "hard closure" near Campbell Road which means that there will strict requirements before anyone can go into that area as there will be a multitude of machines and people working on the road. Pilot vehicles will be used and there may be delays going through each of the work sites.
This also means that the road between the SH1/SH32 (Maraetai Road) and the hard closure (near Campbell Road) will be available for residents, businesses, sports clubs, the school and their customers, members, pupils and employees to use for their access.
Additional signage will be placed at the detour point advising businesses beyond this point are still open. We need to advise the detour earlier to those on longer journeys so they can utilise the appropriate state highways.
The detour will remain in place for the duration of the works to maximise the efficiency of the construction work on SH1 while ensuring safety for both the team and the public.
We will also be coming back to put on the final surfacing. Currently this is planned to start on 7 January 2025, and will be undertaken during night closures on SH1. Further details will be available shortly.
View larger map of SH1 Tokoroa to Kinleith - Ātiamuri closure [PDF, 572 KB]
