Latest information on SH1, Cambridge to Piarere

Home stretch for Hydro Road turnaround

Construction of the turnaround bay at the intersection of State Highway 1 and Hydro Road is heading into its final weeks and is on track to wrap up by 31 July, weather permitting.

The next phase of work will require an evening closure of Hydro Road to allow for asphalt surfacing work.

Hydro Road will be closed tonight, Monday 17 July from 8pm until 5am. This work is weather dependent, and while we do have a reasonable forecast, if we cannot do the work tonight, we will be doing it at the same time on Tuesday night, 18 July.

Alternative routes will be sign-posted, and people needing to access Karāpiro Village are asked to travel outside of this closure or allow extra time for detours. The impact on SH1 traffic is expected to be minimal, although temporary speed limits remain in place near the work site.

Waka Kotahi Regional Manager of Infrastructure Delivery, Jo Wilton says over the next two weeks you can expect to see a lot more activity at the turnaround site, including street lighting, signage, line marking, top soiling and seeding.

“We are also planning on flying a drone in the area during this week to capture images of intersections where we will be implementing the improvements. We don’t expect this will cause disruption, but please contact us with any concerns or queries.”

“We appreciate that the past few weeks have been disruptive and are grateful to the local community for your support and patience during this important safety work. We are giving it our all to be completed by 31 July.”

What happens if work goes beyond 31 July?

If the project does require more time due to any weather delays, the intersection of SH1 and Hydro Road will be able to function in both directions while the remainder of work is completed. Any lane closures/access restrictions requiring Stop/Go traffic management will be done at night – critical works being the exception.

This means that if some work is still needed to finish the turnaround after 31 July – when Ariki Street over the dam is expected to close – residents will be able to use Hydro Road to travel to and from Karāpiro Village.

Once the turnaround is completed, the right turn from SH1 onto Hydro Road will be reopened, and the right turn from Hydro Road onto SH1 will also be reinstated, until later in the year when the next turnaround north of Hickey Road is built. At that point, the right turn from Hydro Road onto SH1 will be closed (the right turn in from SH1 will remain).

To find out more about the safety improvements, go to nzta.govt.nz/c2p. If you have any questions you’d like the project team to answer, email c2p@nzta.govt.nz

A reminder of the detour routes

Below are the alternative routes to use while the Hydro Road turnaround is being built. Most resident vehicles will meet with dam crossing vehicle restrictions and can use Ariki Street to go to and from Cambridge.

Service vehicles, school bus and couriers have all been contacted and agreed to re-route their service. 

Any residents that have vehicle restrictions or concerns please contact the project team on c2p@nzta.govt.nz to discuss arrangements.

What's next?

The turnaround north of Hickey Road is the next planned for construction and we will provide more information around this once it has been confirmed.

Following this, the Keeley’s Reserve turnaround will be timed to avoid the peak recreational season as this intersection will require complete closure. The remaining turnarounds are planned for 2024.

Once the turnarounds are in place at Hydro and Hickey roads we will get started installing median barriers from the end of the Waikato Expressway up to Hydro Road. 

The construction of the roundabout at the intersection of SH1 and SH29 is expected to kick off in October 2023. The tender process is currently underway.

Additional information

For more information on the Cambridge to Piarere project, contact us at c2p@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/c2p