State Highway 1 Tīrau to Waiouru accelerated maintenance project

First road closure next week

6 September 2024

Induction session for the team working on SH1 at the Downer depot in Tīrau

Travelling between Tīrau to Putāruru or vice versa?

If you are travelling between Tīrau and Putāruru next week, please allow a little bit more time to reach your destination. State Highway 1 (SH1) will be closed from the roundabout just south of Tīrau (SH1/SH5) through to the intersection of SH1/28 just north of Putāruru.

Detours will be in place (see map below). The detour through SH28 has been made suitable for High Productivity Motor Vehicles (HPMV) during this 4-week closure of SH1. SH28 normally isn’t deemed suitable for HPMV vehicles, but a variation has been put through on a temporary basis, allowing these types of vehicles to use it during this time. Temporary speed restrictions may be in place over the two bridges which usually have weight restrictions. We will be carefully monitoring the bridges during the time the detour is in place.

The team working on this project had their induction session this morning (Friday 6 September). This had a big focus on health and safety, ensuring everyone working on site knew the procedures in place. The team is very keen to get cracking on with this work.

So what work is going to be done?  The main feature is 2.2km of road rebuild. This involves milling out (the process of removing at least part of the surface of the road) the existing road surface and then strengthening it by replacing with foam stabilised bitumen. This method is used to improve the strength of granular materials (ie aggregate) while retaining flexibility. In this process, foamed bitumen is produced by injecting small amounts of water and air into standard road-grade bitumen at high pressure.

Benefits of foam bitumen include a high-quality finish, high moisture resistance, environmental friendliness, reduced emissions, increased strength, and increased sustainability - as most of the existing material is re-used.

The first kilometre of this road rebuild will be happening just north of the intersection between Webster Road / Taumangi Road / SH1. The other rebuild of 1.2km is just south of Webster Road.

Other work undertaken during the closure includes:

• 330m2 of mill and fill. This is a small localised minor repair where the old surface is removed and a new surface is laid.
• 10 culverts to be cleaned.
• 7 catch pits to be cleaned. Catch pits are the grated areas catching the water, usually from the kerb and channel, to help move water away from the road.
• 400m lowering the road shoulder to follow the grade of the road to allow the water to flow off evenly.
• clearing loose material along the road corridor.
• any necessary sign repairs and refreshing line markings.

The current state of State Highway 1 near Tīrau

This photo was taken today (Friday 6 September 2024). We look forward to taking another photo in a few weeks' time in the same place!  

Detours for Ātiamuri - Wairakei closure

SH1 Ātiamuri to Wairakei Closure

SH1 will be closed during the day in both directions from Ātiamuri (SH1/30 intersection) to Wairakei (SH1/SH5 intersection). These daytime closures will be from Monday 16 September until Friday 4 October from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday. The road will re-open at nights from 6pm - 8am and on Sundays.

This work is being delivered by Higgins. It includes 8.6kms of maintenance and roading rebuild work including foam stabilisation, cement stabilisation and chip sealing.

The detours for light vehicles (ie all vehicles you can drive on a Class 1 licence) is via SH30, SH32 and Poihipi Road down to Wairakei Drive. This will add approximately 40km and 27 minutes extra to journeys. 

For all heavy vehicles, the detour will be via SH30 and SH5 which is an additional 62kms and approximately 42 minutes. 

Residents, businesses and emergency services will have access at all times. Essential vehicles, such as rubbish trucks, school buses, NZ Post and other delivery vehicles will have monitored access to Ātiamuri village and other sites, maintained by the traffic management crew. 

Orakei Korako Cave and Thermal Park guests and services will have full access to the attraction from SH1 heading south from Auckland and north from Taupō. The same applies for the Taupo Pet Lodge customers and their dogs.

We have been making contact with residents and dropping in detailed information. If for some reason you haven't heard from us, please contact us by email.

Further work is needed on this section of SH1, so another closure will be required at a later date (currently proposed to be late November and some of December). 

For those involved in the Ironman event in Taupō on 14 -15 December, we expect to have more information for you shortly. 

2024-27 National Land Transport Programme

The government has set a clear direction for us to deliver a better transport network for New Zealand and the newly released 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) lays out the activities and projects we’ll deliver with local government during the next 3 years.

NZTA has received funding of over $4.3 billion for state highway maintenance and operations across the 2024-27 NLTP period.

This includes over $2 billion for the State Highway Pothole Prevention activity class; this funding is ring-fenced and can only be spent on road or drainage maintenance and renewals.

This compares to the $1.05 billion spent on road renewals through the 2021-24 period.

This enables NZTA to focus on road rebuilding in an effort to improve overall network condition through more intensive treatments, increasing pavement quality.

Within the NLTP document, the foundations of this accelerated maintenance project are emphasised in many places.

Our increased road renewals programme will reduce the requirement for smaller fixes and low-risk activities, therefore reducing temporary traffic management equipment and costs overall.

Areas that will have a significant increase in road rehabilitation work include Northland, Taranaki and SH1 between Piarere (SH1/SH29) and Waiouru (SH1/SH49).

Indicative dates of future work

We are finalising plans for further sections of SH1 to be fully closed right down to Waiouru. For the townships, we intend to use nightworks only to lessen disruption.

A draft programme for SH1, which is subject to change, especially due to weather and other unforeseen circumstances is:

• SH5 Tīrau to SH28 Putāruru: 9 September – 4 October 2024
• SH29 Piarere to North Tīrau: 29 September for 3 weeks (night closure only)
• SH32 Tokoroa to SH30 Ātiamuri: 7 October – early November 2024
• SH28 Putāruru to SH32 Tokoroa: Late November – 23 December 2024
• SH30 Ātiamuri to SH5 Wairakei part 2: November – December 2024. More information on arrangements for the Ironman event in Taupō 14-15 December will be available soon. 
• SH41 Tūrangi to SH49 Waiouru: January - February 2025
• SH1/SH5 Roundabout Taupō to Tūrangi: March - April 2025
• Tīrau township to SH1/SH5 roundabout: Spring 2025
• Taupō urban: Spring 2025

More detailed information on dates, durations and detours will be shared as soon as it is available.

Please note there will be additional work required in these sections a few months after the initial closures. This is to lay the final asphalt surface coat on where the road has been rebuilt.

The rebuilt road needs time with normal traffic using it in order to settle in.  Applying the final asphalt surface before this has happened will result in a poorly finished surface. The work required to apply the final coat will only take a short time and some may possiby be done at night.

Freight

Freight is a significant contributor to economic growth and prosperity in New Zealand. Our economy relies on the efficient running of the freight and supply chain system.

Ninety-three percent of freight in New Zealand is moved by road. Roads enable the rapid transportation of perishable goods, access to almost any town and the ability to quickly respond to changing demands.

We’ll be rebuilding our roads to better support the economy by strengthening road surfaces to carry heavier freight loads, including those of HPMV vehicles. 

Where freight volumes are high (and where there’s considerable general traffic too) we’re increasingly building structural pavements. These are super strong, so require less maintenance despite the heavier traffic. 

This project will contribute significantly to the increasing the strength of our highways.

We have been and will continue to work closely with the freight sector to minimise disruptions to key routes as we deliver our expanded renewals programme on the state highway network. The contribution the freight industry has made to the planning of this project is significant and very much appreciated. 

More information

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 at SH1Waikato@nzta.govt.nz

Please visit our website nzta.govt.nz/t2w