Loop Road Safety Improvements remedial work to begin on Monday 9 October

Kia ora koutou,

With the warmer, drier weather arriving, we will begin the permanent seal work on the northern end of the Loop Road roundabout to remediate the quality issue which was previously identified.

The bulk of the resurfacing work will begin on Monday 10 October and be completed by Wednesday 9 November, but, we still have a few more finishing touches to add which will be completed before the Christmas holiday period.

Pavement work details

Traffic switch this Sunday

In the early hours of Monday 10 October (between 3-5am), vehicles heading southbound will be shifted onto the western side of SH1 north of the roundabout for approximately 10 days. Surfacing works will begin on the eastern side of SH1 shortly after.

Our crews will be carrying out a range of activities including removing the current asphalt concrete followed by stabilising and compacting the ground before applying the new seal. After this is complete, you’ll likely see less work happening as the new seal cures and is tested for quality.

Labour Weekend

Over Labour weekend both lanes of traffic will run in their regular lanes for north and south bound, with plenty of width to accommodate long weekend visitors.

Traffic switch Tuesday 25 October

From Tuesday 25 October, once the new seal on the eastern side of the road has settled in, all traffic will be shifted east while we carry out resealing work on the western side.

This will likely take another 10-14 days to complete, and we expect to finish with line marking and a traffic switch to the final layout by Wednesday 9 November.

During these works a 30km/h temporary speed limit will be in place. Please take care as you drive through the area, look out for crew working on the road and watch for changes in the road layout.

Finishing touches

Once the pavement work is complete, the final traffic island just north of the roundabout will be installed as well as the guardrail on the edge of the southbound lane. The guardrail will run from the bottom of Lookout Hill down toward the roundabout.

While there will be minimal impact to road users while we complete these finishing touches, please allow for a lower speed limit and minor lane shifts to accommodate a safe working area for crews and machinery.

During construction of the traffic island there may be minor delays at times as concrete trucks enter the work area.

Our work is weather dependent and can be impacted by factors outside our control. We appreciate your understanding and patience as we carry out this work which will complete Stage One of the Loop Road Safety Improvements Project.

Second coat seal to be laid in early 2023

Our crews will need to come back in March 2023 to complete a second coat seal which will improve the waterproofness of the road surface and ensure it is durable for a longer period.

It’s essential that we allow traffic to run over the first coat seal for a few months to allow the new pavement to settle down and fully compact before another layer is added on top.

Stage Two: increasing the roundabout to two lanes

When construction of the new roundabout commenced in March 2019, our contractors were tasked with delivering a single-lane roundabout, plus additional earthworks, foundations and culverts, to ensure the roundabout could be increased to two lanes in the future.

Towards the end of 2019, Waka Kotahi approved additional funding to bring forward the construction of the larger dual-lane roundabout.

Increasing the Loop Road roundabout to two lanes means an additional southbound lane is required on SH1 as well as a new bridge to accommodate the additional lane. The new bridge and lane will ensure southbound traffic exiting the roundabout have a safe distance to merge back into a single lane before Portland Road.

The new bridge will be constructed to the east of the existing bridge, which will be kept for northbound traffic only. The new bridge will be constructed to our current design standards which mean it will be approximately 1.8 metres higher than the existing bridge on SH1.

The higher bridge structure means right turns into, or out of, Oaks Road will not be possible. Northbound and southbound lanes will be separated by a centre wire-rope barrier. We have constructed a safe turning area on Portland Road for Oaks Road and SH1 residents to make right turns.

Construction of stage two will begin during this construction season with work to strengthen the ground where the road will be constructed. This process, called ‘preloading’, works by slowly compressing the ground surface to create a stronger foundation for holding the road and vehicles. This process can take up to six-months.

While construction for stage two may not be completed until 2025, we expect minimal disruption to state highway traffic than stage one as the majority of work will be completed beside the road, off the state highway.
It will only be the taper lane ‘tie-ins’ at the roundabout and south of Otaika Stream that will require traffic management, and this won’t be programmed until later in construction.
We’re in the process of firming up the project timeline and will have more detail to share in the coming months.

More information

For more information on the SH1 Loop Road improvements, contact us at northlandproject@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/loop-road