SH1 Tīrau to Waiouru maintenance update

This newsletter is moving from weekly updates to fortnightly. The next newsletter will be sent on Monday 20 October.

6 October 2025

Tīrau: Starting Sunday 12 October (weather dependent) the current overnight closure will switch and SH1 will be closed overnight between the Tīrau roundabout SH1/SH5, and the SH1/State Highway 28 (SH28) intersection. Work is between 7pm and 6am, Sunday to Thursday nights. During the day SH1 is open under temporary speed limits. All traffic will be detoured from the roundabout on SH1 to SH5, SH28 and back to SH1 and the reverse for northbound. This adds approximately 4 mins and 4 kms to your journey between Tīrau and Putāruru.

Putāruru to Tokoroa: Starting Sunday 12 October, to early November, we will be doing overnight work using stop/go traffic management on sites between Putāruru and Tokoroa. Work is between 7pm and 6am, Sunday to Thursday nights. During the day there are temporary speed limits.

Taupō to Tūrangi - Kiko Road and Motuoapa: Enabling work starts at Kiko Road Monday 13 October. We will then move to the southern end of Motuoapa around Monday 20 October using daytime stop/go. Daytime work will be Monday to Sunday, between 7am and 6pm. In November this will move to overnight stop/go for road rebuilding. Overnight work will be Sunday to Thursday, between 7pm and 6am.

Waitahanui: Lane shifts and temporary speed limits are in place, please follow the traffic management and stick to the speed limits.
Hatepe Hill: overnight work continues using stop/go traffic management.  Work at Hatepe is Sunday to Thursday, please prepare for some delays. This work is subject to weather.

The hidden highway

Our state highways don’t just move cars and trucks; they carry the lifelines of our towns and cities. Beneath the road and alongside the asphalt run the pipes and cables carrying water, power, internet, and fibre. These hidden networks mirror the flow of traffic above.

Sharing the state highway with all these utilities means careful planning whenever we carry out road maintenance or upgrades. A single cut to a fibre line or water pipe could take an entire town offline.

While we are working between Taupō and Tūrangi there is also a lot of utility work happening including fibre being laid and work on water mains. This is why you will see a few shoulder closures in between our work sites. These underground services are also why we use the hydrovac machines during our enabling works to identify and isolate where these services run and make sure our work doesn’t disrupt them.

The hydrovac machine combines high-pressure water with a vacuum system to remove soil and debris so we can locate where the services are and avoid them.

Hydovac machine working at Waitahanui

Hot mix on the move

Cindy our mobile asphalt plant has cranked into gear between Taupō and Tūrangi, and the crew has started laying asphalt at night on Hatepe Hill.

Cindy is pumping out an average of 400 tonnes of asphalt each night, around 33 truck loads. Having Cindy close to our sites means we can deliver asphalt to most of our areas between Taupō and Tūrangi and on the Desert Road within 1 hour and many of them within 15 to 20 minutes.

Once the asphalt arrives at site it gets loaded into this paver and the crew meticulously gets to work. When the asphalt is laid hot, and compacted tight, it locks the stone and binder together creating a strong surface for a smoother safer road.

The amount of this specific binder being used on T2W over a 3-month period is equivalent to the total amount of that binder our contractor Downer would use in a usual road maintenance season across the entire North Island. That gives you an idea of the amount of asphalt we’re laying.

Tīrau - our switch has been rained off

There's one thing we can't control on this job and that's the weather. The crew planned to start asphalting on the Tīrau roundabout and completing additional maintenance between the roundabout and Whites Road this Wednesday 8 October. Rain has meant they have lost a few shifts so, this is now scheduled to start this Sunday 12 October. From Sunday at 7pm, SH1 between the roundabout and the SH1/SH28 intersection will be closed overnight, between 7pm and 6am, Sunday to Thursday (VERY weather dependent). Access for emergency services will be maintained at all times.  Residents living between the roundabout and Putāruru will need to use the detour during the works. There is no access north at the SH1/SH5 roundabout. The team expects to complete this work in 3 shifts, the final shift on Tuesday next week (weather dependent). Stay up to date by following our Facebook page or using Journey Planner.

Putāruru to Tokoroa update

In season 1 we rebuilt 3 sites between Putāruru and Tokoroa at Domain/Pinedale roads, the Te Rere passing lane and the Puriri passing lane. Additional sites were also completed in this section using different treatment types.

The areas we rebuilt are now ready for the final asphalt layer. We will be completing these sites one at a time, starting Sunday 12 October. We'll also be chipsealing the other areas along this section of SH1 and completing our road rebuilding just north of Tokoroa.

From Sunday 12 October, for around 5 weeks, overnight work will happen at these sites between Putāruru and Tokoroa. This work is weather dependent so if the weather is bad it will move to the next available fine night. The chipsealing work will happen once we have finished asphalting and will require stop/go traffic management during the day, 

Work will be between 7pm and 6am, Sunday to Thursday nights under stop/go traffic management. Outside of the working hours the road will be open under temporary speed restrictions. The chipsealing work will happen once we've finished asphalting and will require stop/go traffic management during the day. We'll be completing road rebuilding at the southern end of Tokoroa in early 2026.

Taupō to Tūrangi - Kiko Road daytime stop/go starts Monday 13 October

Work starts at Kiko Road Monday 13 October. We will then move to the southern end of Motuoapa around Monday 20 October. We will using daytime stop/go. These dates are weather dependent and subject to change. The team will be replacing kerb and channel and completing subsoil drainage and other maintenance. In November they will move to overnight stop/go, for the road rebuilding.  

Our daytime work will be Monday to Sunday, between 7am and 6pm. When we shift to overnight work it will be Sunday to Thursday, between 7pm and 6am.  Outside of the working hours the road will be open under temporary speed restrictions.

Some noise and vibrations are to be expected with these works. This will be managed, and we aim to keep these to a minimum throughout the work period.

Motutere speed review

Public feedback is being sought on a proposed speed limit change on a short section of SH1 at Motutere, south of Taupō.  

A new speed limit of 60km/h is proposed for the 0.85km stretch of SH1 alongside the Motutere Holiday Park. The review covers the area from approximately 700 metres north of Waitapu Road to 150 metres south of Waitapu Road, including the holiday park frontage. 

Under the new Setting of Speed Limit Rule, the 4.31km section of SH1 between Halletts Bay and Motutere/Te Pōporo Bulli Point was raised from 60km/h to 100km/h on 22 May 2025. Considerable feedback was received since then from the local community, iwi, Taupō District Council, and freight operators that the 100km/h speed limit is not appropriate there due to the many pedestrians crossing SH1 as well as the many vehicles turning and stopping. 

The new Speed Rule is prescriptive in how speed limits are set and there is a requirement for further public consultation, which must be considered alongside the economic impacts and technical safety assessments to determine if we make any changes in this area. 

Consultation on the proposed speed limit change is open until 17 November. Have your say.

SH29 Kaimai overnight closure planned for early October

While it’s not being completed by T2W there is a large programme of work coming up on State Highway 29 (SH29) including road rebuilding and resurfacing. Between now and May 2026 there are 5 sites on the Bay of Plenty side of the Kaimai Range where the road will be rebuilt or resurfaced. Contractors on the Waikato side are also planning a 5-night closure in October to complete maintenance.

When will SH29 be closed?
Between Sunday 12 and Friday 17 October SH29 will be closed overnight between 7.30pm and 3am. The early reopening is to support freight to get to the Tauranga Port on time. We need to use a closure because of the location of the sites and the road width.

Where are the closure points?
SH29 will be closed on the Waikato side from the SH29/SH24 intersection and the SH29/SH28 intersection. On the Bay of Plenty side, it will be closed from the SH29/Cambridge Road intersection. Access will be maintained for residents and first responders.

What are the detours?

The detour for heavy vehicles (HPMV): SH5 → SH30 → SH33 

Alternative routes for light vehicles:
North: SH2 → SH26 → SH27
South: SH2 → SH33 → SH30 → SH5 → SH28 → SH27 → SH29

T2W is moving to fortnightly updates

We’re 2 months into our work on T2W and are finding the traffic management schedule is steady week to week. Because we're also not using 24/7 road closures this also means we're finding updates are not required as regularly.

With this in mind we are moving the T2W e-news updates to fortnightly. The next newsletter will be sent on Monday 20 October. We’d be happy to hear any feedback on our communications approach. Email us.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) has also launched a series of maintenance newsletters sent each Friday where you can keep up to date with works on Waikato state highways. Sign-up for the Waikato newsletter.

Reminder: Mercury Energy – planned closures of the Whakamaru Dam for maintenance

Mercury Energy is planning to close the Whakamaru Dam during the day from Monday 13 October to Friday 17 October between 8am to 7pm. This will impact road users wanting to travel on SH32 during this time.

More information

For more information on the SH1 Tīrau to Waiouru maintenance, contact us at SH1Waikato@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website nzta.govt.nz/t2w