SH58 Safety Improvements Project Update

26 September 2025

Seeing you at the SH58 Community Drop-in Sessions

Earlier this month we had productive discussions with locals who live and work along State Highway 58.

Thanks to everyone who came along to our community drop-in sessions at Judgeford Golf Course. Overall, people reported being happy seeing us getting well underway with work but raised some specific concerns.

A big thank you to Craig Marshall and the team at Judgeford Golf Course, whose help made the running of the sessions such a success for those who attended.

We listened first-hand about your thoughts and concerns about traffic management, how the new roundabouts will look, highway rubbish removal, how flooding issues will be affected by the new road design and culverts, and road shoulder widths.

Thanks for your feedback on these – it's very useful hearing from you.

People also had questions about the full road closure which happened on Sunday 14 September.  The team from Wellington Transport Alliance was on hand to offer information on this important maintenance work.

People were also interested in what’s happening with the roundabout improvements where SH58 passes under Transmission Gully, which is now underway.

Thanks to local resident Mary for use of this photo!

These drop-ins are a great opportunity for us to join the dots for you between the different projects happening across our region, and we enjoy meeting you.

It was a great opportunity for us to help the community ‘join the dots’ between the different projects, and the specialised work streams that different parts of the business are responsible for, i.e. the different roles and responsibilities between construction project works, and the ongoing requirement for highway repair and maintenance, which is handled by NZTA’s Wellington Transport Alliance.

Sealing of highway from Murphys/Flightys to Transmission Gully

In the week beginning Sunday 05 October, we’re planning to reseal the section of road between Flightys Road/Murphys Road and the Transmission Gully interchange with chipseal over a timeframe of two to three nights.

The traffic management, such as the hit stick delineators and temporary barriers that have been in place for some time will be removed.  In the immediate period after the chipseal is laid, there will be cones out as there will be no line marking.

The line marking will be done about two days after the chipseal has been laid, and after a first sweep.

The speed limit will be lowered to 30kph for two to three weeks to allow the chipseal to properly bed in. During this time, we’ll do a second sweep if needed to clear off any excess chipseal.

Please make sure you stick to the lower speed limit when driving through this section while the seal settles.  This will help the long-term performance of the road and also lessens any stone chips from flicking up.

This work is highly weather dependent.  If it’s not possible to do the work in the week beginning 05 October, the schedule will roll over to the next clear weather window.

We’ll advise on timings, if things change.

 
 

Thank you for making the road closure a success

Wellington Transport Alliance (WTA) closed SH58 Haywards to undertake maintenance work on this important part of our network on Sunday 14 September.

This is a new approach for WTA to maintain SH58 and allowed many jobs to be completed in the most efficient and least impactful way for road-users.

The tasks were to fix a guardrail, repair wire-rope barriers which had been hit 15 times, remove trees, and clear overgrown vegetation.

Kim Buchanan, the Maintenance Lead, said “it was great seeing all the crews hard at work during the closure. It was a well-planned, safe and efficient closure.”

The next closures are planned for:

5-6 October - Sun/Mon overnight, 10pm - 4am

9-10 November - Sun/Mon overnight, 10pm - 4am

Changes to Flightys Road intersection

Coming in and out of Flightys Road from SH58 is about to change.
There are important upcoming changes to the intersection of Flightys Road and SH58.

As part of the ongoing SH58 Safety Improvement Project, Downer’s teams will soon be starting construction on the Flightys Road roundabout.

To allow for this, a new temporary intersection around the roundabout construction area will be created.  Please see diagram below:

Downer expect to open the new layout next week, that is the week commencing 29 September.

Work to complete the diversion is weather dependent and Downer will send further confirmation to Flightys Road residents early next week.

Note - the bus stop for the school buses will remain in its current location.   Downer staff are working with bus companies to ensure the safe operation of the school service.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact Donwer or NZTA by email:

B.Mackenzie-Dodds@Downer.co.nz     

SH58safety@NZTA.govt.nz

Layout changes planned for SH58/ Transmission Gully roundabouts

NZTA is making layout changes at the double roundabouts on State Highway 58, where it passes under State Highway 1 Transmission Gully.

Road cones have been in place at these roundabouts since September 2022 to prevent people making incorrect turns and driving the wrong way up the motorway off-ramps.

This creates a ‘dog-bone’ layout which makes these turns less likely by helping direct drivers to the correct on-ramps. 

The layout changes will involve permanently extending the median islands to the roundabouts on either side of the interchange by in-filling the areas that have been marked by these road cones.

Once complete, the road cones will be removed.

This work began this week and is expected to take around three weeks to complete - with work due to end on 15 October.

Road signs and markings will also be improved and upgraded to inform motorists of the new road layout.

The state highways and interchange will remain open throughout this work.

Dates are dependent on weather and other factors and could be subject to change at short notice.

Works schedule 

• Tuesday, 23 September to Wednesday, 15 October.
  Weekdays, 9am to 6pm. 

• Motorists should expect delays and plan ahead.

• Some limited nightworks will be required in October for landscaping, line marking and signage.

• Throughout this project expect temporary traffic management, including lane closures and slower speed limits around this worksite.

Want to connect with the project team?

If you have any questions about the project work, email:   sh58safety@nzta.govt.nz;   and keep a watch on the SH58 Project webpage: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/sh58-safety-improvements.

Just a note, if you ever need to report an emergency, incident or have an immediate concern about any highway in New Zealand, call the freephone 0800 4 HIGHWAYS or 0800 44 44 49.

Calls are handled by our national call centre and is staffed 24/7 – every day of the year.