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SH1 Tīrau to Waiouru accelerated maintenance project updateBefore and after on our first rebuilt section! |
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28 February 2025 |
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In this week's issue:
• Mangatoetoenui Bridge deck replacement complete: Desert Road Upcoming closures 2 closures between Tīrau and Taupō:
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Check out the Mangatoetoenui Bridge deck - ready for the next 50 years. Great work team! Mangatoetoenui Bridge deck replacement complete: Desert RoadGreat news! The crews are putting the final touches on the Mangatoetoenui Bridge which will be open from today, Friday 28 February, for first responders, over dimension loads and those needing special access. It's been an intensive six weeks of work involving precision planning but the old wooden deck is long gone and the bridge is now stronger and expected to last the next 50 years at least. Work continues across the remainder of the Desert Road section, and we are still on track for a mid-March opening. The northern section between Tūrangi and Rangipō has been open all this week to light vehicles. We've been hearing people are confused by the early warning detour signage. We need to keep this signage in place for those on longer journeys to show the official detours, but we are looking at how we can make this clearer for the locals. Light vehicles can use SH1 to the SH1/SH46 intersection and access SH46 to connect to SH47. Note that SH46 isn't heavy vehicle (HPMV) approved - a permit is required. |
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Spot the differenceCheck out these before and after photos of the first rebuilt sections of SH1. These were taken between Tīrau to Putāruru. We first closed this section of SH1 for 4 weeks between September and October 2024 to rebuild sections of the road. That had a few months to settle before the final surfacing was completed in late January this year. It’s smooth driving on these pieces of SH1 now. |
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Doesn't SH1 look great now! |
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Next closures: Putāruru to Lichfield and Ātiamuri to Wairakei - 5am Monday 3 March.SH1 Putāruru to Lichfield and also Ātiamuri to Wairakei will be closed from 5am Monday 3 March 24/7, with detours in place. We are working in the northern section of SH1 between Putāruru and Lichfield, between Domain and Pinedale Roads. We are working closely with those businesses on Domain Road so they should have access through the intersection during the working week. Our crucial work of foam bitumen stabilisation on the intersection rebuild will be done in a weekend, subject to suitable weather. Resealing, drainage, shoulder cleaning, sign repairs, guardrail removal/installation and line marking will be done. 2.17 lane km of road will be rebuilt, involving breaking up the existing road surface, adding more aggregate to strengthen the road and constructing a new foam bitumen stabilised pavement layer for even more strength and durability. The new overlay material is then placed and spread before it is chip sealed and left to mature. We then come back for the final surfacing at some stage in the future, once all the quality testing has been done. The work couldn’t be done during the closure in this area last year as we couldn’t fit all the required work in without causing major disruption on SH1 during Christmas. The final surfacing will be done on the southern section we completed last year in early April under stop/go traffic management and at night for approximately 10 nights. The Ātiamuri to Wairakei section still has significant work to be done, this time on the southern end. There are six separate work areas including road reconstruction and structural asphalt resealing work (which builds a super-strong road where the ground is weak.) With a reseal, the existing road surface is removed with a milling machine, then the structural layer is added before the final surface asphalt for added water proofing and ride quality is placed over the top. Last year’s closure work on the major safety improvement project was combined with road renewal and maintenance on the northern section, undertaken by Higgins. The safety work was started back in 2022, and Higgins will be getting this all finished off during this current closure. This closure will see Higgins, Downer and MS Civil working together on various pieces of road within the closure to get things done quickly. |
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Putāruru to Lichfield: The detourSH1/Princes Street, Putāruru to the Vosper Road/SH1 Lichfield intersection will be closed from 5am Monday 3 March for approximately 4 weeks (weather dependent). The local detour for light vehicles (all vehicles you can drive on a regular car/Class 1 licence) is:
The detour for heavy vehicles is via SH30/SH5. There will be a temporary speed limit on the detour route at Putāruru of 70km/h and 30km/h speed limit past Lichfield School. South Waikato District Council has just finished some maintenance work on part of the detour. Photo below was taken this week near the SH1/Pinedale Road intersection |
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Ātiamuri to Wairakei: The detourSH1 will be closed from the SH1/SH30 intersection to the SH1/SH5 intersection (Wairakei Roundabout). Work will take approximately 5 weeks to complete (weather dependent). The detour for light vehicles (all vehicles you can drive on a regular car/Class 1 licence) is:
Access passes have been delivered to businesses and residents. Businesses in the work zones are still open for all visitors, customers and service providers – just talk to the traffic controllers. We understand people may think it is quicker to drive through the work zones, but in reality, you will experience significant delay due to the many worksites, so we strongly recommend using the local detour routes. Below: SH1 in its current condition. |
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Why are there road works on the detour routes?We know it’s less than ideal, but you will come across other road works on our detour routes, including SH5, the main detour for heavy vehicles while SH1 is closed near Putāruru and Ātiamuri. There are also works being done by Taupō District Council on Poihipi Road which is also part of the detour on Ātiamuri to Wairakei. Road maintenance is heavily dependent on the weather and the ground temperature is particularly critical. The road maintenance work season typically goes from 1 October to the end of March. Generally, the weather is more settled during this period and our work won’t be impacted by rain and cold temperatures. New Zealand’s state highways are managed and maintained by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi and its contractors. There are also local roads which are managed and maintained by New Zealand’s councils. We are all trying to get our road maintenance done during this period so it’s a busy time. We do work with local authorities to plan when we all do our works to minimise the disruption as much as possible but sometimes there is work both on the state highway and on a local road detour that is critical to complete this season and cannot be avoided. The map below has been distributed to Equestrian Sports NZ and the organisers of the Horse of the Year show which is held in Hastings next week and attracts competitors, officials and spectators from all over the country. Even if you are not one of those heading to the country's biggest horse show, you can see just how much maintenance activity is underway at the moment. |
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Additional temporary speed limits on Desert Road detourThe signs are up, and the temporary speed limit of 50km/h was put in place last week at the SH4/SH47 intersection. The speed has been reduced to 50km/h while this road is being used as a detour for SH1. At the request of the NZ Police, we are also putting in a temporary speed limit of 70km/h at the intersection of SH41 and SH47. This will become active once the signage is installed. Both intersections also have added warning signage, such as “Queues ahead” and “Major intersection ahead”. We get a lot of questions about lowering speed limits on our detours. We give careful consideration to when and where we implement temporary speed limits. Speeds cannot be temporarily lowered unless the level of risk meets the threshold for a reduced speed. Our safety engineers do a risk assessment, and a detour route must be fit for purpose and enable traffic to continue their journeys safely and efficiently – without undue delays. Speeds can also be temporarily lowered at NZ Police request. Our team monitors the detour routes and can make changes when necessary.
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Why aren't the contractors working 24/7?Something we’re often asked is why crews are not working 24/7 when a state highway is shut. Across the Tīrau to Waiouru project there have been sites where work has been undertaken both night and day, while in some instances there is either day or night work. A lot of factors go into our decision. These include coordination of work crews while managing fatigue to ensure everyone is fresh when they turn up to work. We also have to consider the availability of materials and the logistics of getting those materials to work sites across New Zealand when they’re needed. The overall cost of how we coordinate all these moving parts, risk factors and impact on road users must be considered. There are also specific work activities we can do at night, while others are best suited during the day. Generally the foam bitumen stabilisation process being undertaking on the Tīrau to Waiouru project cannot be done at night, because of the lower temperatures. On the other hand, asphalt resurfacing, which we are also doing, can be done at night and we’ll do that when all the moving parts fit. In some cases, we must also completely close the road whether we’re working day or night, because of the intensity and pace of work we are doing and the fact the road is often not safe for the public. On the Tīrau to Waiouru project we are doing large areas of road rebuilding, which can mean large sections of the road are uneven, with significant and sudden changes in depth. The closures do improve productivity, removing the need for traffic management set up and pack down, allowing our teams to work longer hours than usual including both day and night, where we can. So, when you see a state highway closed but crews not working, rest assured there has been a huge amount of planning and logistics work undertaken to ensure the overall work activity is happening in the most efficient way possible. The photo below shows asphalt surfacing at night on the now completed Tīrau to Putāruru section and the road levels at the time. |
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Proposed closure of SH1 between Tūrangi and TaupōThank you to all those who have already given us feedback on the proposed road closure scheduled for October – November 2025. We have also had useful discussions with Taupō District Council, Councillor who has shared the information you have spoken to them about. We are taking all this information and using it to see how we can come up with a plan that lessens disruptions. We can’t promise there will be no disruptions, nor can we put on the helicopters some have suggested, but we are looking at what can be done. We are planning on having a variety of events to talk further about this with you when we have more information on schedules and plans. Topics for further consideration include resident passes, school bus routes, impact on tourism businesses and accommodation providers and those needing to get to medical appointments. Keep signed up to this e-newsletter as we will share dates and options here. |
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More information |
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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. Please pass this on to others who may be using SH1 in the next few months and encourage them to sign up to this newsletter by using the subscribe button below. For more information or any concerns on the SH1 Tīrau to Waiouru maintenance, please email us. Visit our website nzta.govt.nz/t2w Check out Journey Planner before you leave for your travels - it will show you the best routes! |
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