SH1 Tīrau to Waiouru accelerated maintenance project update

SH1 Desert Road, almost ready to roll!

7 March 2025

In this week's issue:

• SH1 Desert Road, almost ready to roll!
• Latest closures - Putāruru to Lichfield and Ātiamuri to Wairakei
• Businesses like Redwood Cafe and others are still open!
• Ātiamuri to Wairakei: Shout out to our traffic controllers
• Introducing some of the Tīrau to Waiouru crew
• She ain’t heavy: Concerns about heavy vehicles on detours
• Have your say on proposed speed limit changes between Taupō and Tūrangi

Upcoming closures

2 closures between Tīrau and Taupō:

• SH1 Putāruru to Lichfield closed for approximately four weeks (weather dependent). Detour adds approximately 16 minutes and 18.5km to journeys.
• SH1 Ātiamuri to Wairakei closed for approximately five weeks (weather dependent). Detour adds approximately 23 minutes and 32km to journeys.

The Mangatoetoenui Bridge ready to go.

Desert Road SH1, almost ready to roll!

We’re heading fast towards opening this section which could be the end of next week if good weather continues. More than 500 tonnes of asphalt is being laid every day, and the crews will be working this Saturday and Sunday to keep to schedule.

When it’s opened, there will be traffic management in place where we have a chip seal surface, to allow the chip to bed in properly.

The Mangatoetoenui Bridge is all ready to go, too. Replacing the deck on the bridge was a key job while the road has been closed. The bridge deck replacement took just 6 weeks, including assembling and dismantling New Zealand’s largest mobile crane. Check out the deck looking all sparkling new.

Latest closures - Putāruru to Lichfield and Ātiamuri to Wairakei

We’re underway with works on the Putāruru to Lichfield and Ātiamuri to Wairakei sections. We closed both these sections of SH1 at 5am on Monday 3 March and the team kicked straight into gear with enabling works at both sites.

These photos below, show some of the work on the Putāruru to Lichfield section where along with resealing, drainage, shoulder cleaning, sign repairs, guardrail removal and installation, and line marking, we’re also rebuilding 2.17 lane kms of road! 

It’s a big job and not one we could get done with traffic travelling through the works area. This is why we have closed the road and only allowed limited access for residents, businesses and service providers who need to enter the works area. We have traffic controllers at the detour points 24/7 so everyone who doesn't have a resident or business access pass will be asked by the traffic team where you are travelling to. To access businesses, it is best to use the detour.

Please follow the detour signs and respect the temporary speed limits in place, especially around Lichfield School which is part of the detour.

Businesses like Redwood Cafe and others are still open!

Thanks to the team at Redwood Cafe! They are one business in the closure on Putāruru to Lichfield. They delivered kai to our road workers this week - that went down a treat.

We know our project is disruptive to businesses and the communities we’re working in, and we are working hard to minimise the disruption as much as we can, which is also why we’re doing this work under road closures. If we did it under traditional stop/go traffic management, it would take up to 4 years to complete all the work needed between Tīrau and Waiouru!

Businesses in our closure zones on both Putāruru to Lichfield and Ātiamuri to Wairakei are still open, and our traffic controllers will provide access for visitors and service providers but please be aware, at Putāruru, it is best to use the detour route to access them.

Ātiamuri to Wairakei: Shout out to our traffic controllers

Our dedicated traffic controllers are at the coal face of our works, interacting with the public and helping you get where you’re supposed to go. 

Sisters, Leece Grey and Christine Grey (pictured below) work for Traffic Management New Zealand and were on site at 5am on Monday morning to manage traffic at the closure point of the Ātiamuri to Wairakei section. 

Please respect the mahi our traffic controllers are doing. They’re there to keep everyone safe while we rebuild these sections of SH1. 

Please follow the detours in place and stick to the speed limits.

Sisters, Leece Grey and Christine Grey work for Traffic Management New Zealand.

There are 6 separate work sites across Ātiamuri to Wairakei and contractors Downer, Higgins and MS Civil are all working together to get the job done. The photos below show works underway across the project this week. Each work site also has its own traffic management in place so everyone can work safely within the zone closure and manage residents and businesses who must have access through the area.

Introducing some of the T2W crew

We have some great people working on our Tīrau to Waiouru Accelerated Maintenance Programme (T2W). They’ve been handpicked for their specialist skills and are passionate about the work they do. They’re committed to delivering road users a better driving experience on the sections of SH1 they’re working on. 

This week we start a new series introducing the T2W crew; people like Elijah from Graham Contractors who has been working on the Desert Road Tūrangi to Waiouru section. Elijah’s father also worked on this section of road, so the project holds a special place for Elijah.

“My father worked on this part of the network that he used to tell me when he was driving through here...and I did this corner and this and that, and he's since passed, so...to do work in here is a little bit nice.”

She ain’t heavy

There have been concerns about heavy vehicles using some of the detours on Tīrau to Waiouru. For example, SH46 that requires HPMV vehicles to have a permit due to 2 bridges on the route. 

Looks can be deceiving, however. A truck might look heavy and have the yellow ‘H’ placard displayed, but they may not actually be that heavy; it all depends on the weight of their loads. The trucks you see might have half loads or have already delivered their loads so are in fact not heavy and therefore fall within the weight limits permitted for certain vehicle detours.

We have worked with the freight industry to ensure they are aware of the various restrictions.  There is a great map available on our website showing the various HPMV restrictions.

We will continue to monitor all detour routes we have in place, along with our partners NZ Police who are responsible for monitoring speed and other compliance such as truck weights.

Alternative routes

For HMPV’s it’s worth remembering if you’re heading from Auckland or Hamilton south, and vice versa, you can use State Highways 3, 4 and 49. This route has been made suitable for all heavy vehicles for the duration of the works. This route adds very little time to journeys and having reliable, predictable journey times is important to everyone, especially freight. SH5 via Rotorua is also available.

The maintenance work on SH5 in the Mamaku region will be wound up next week, so the detour on this route will have less delays.

Check Journey Planner

We suggest you check Journey planner before setting off to work out the best travel options. It is nearing the end of road works season, and a lot of maintenance teams (both on local roads and state highways) are pushing to get the road maintenance needed done before winter.

Have your say on proposed speed limit changes between Taupō and Tūrangi

Are they too high, are they too low or are they good as they currently are? Now is the chance to have your say on the speeds in this area. Consultation is open until 13 March on whether to keep the current speed limits or increase them to higher speeds (ie what they were before 2020). 

Whatever your opinion is, please fill out the survey! The views of the community (measured by the people making submissions) do play a very large role in what happens to the speed limits. This link takes you straight to the Waikato speed consultation. NZ Transport Agency speed reversal consultation for Waikato | Speed reversals and consultations | New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.

If you want to have a say on speeds in other areas, please check out this link. Regional consultation under the new speed rule | NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.

More information

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!