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State Highway 1 Tīrau to Waiouru accelerated maintenance projectLatest information on SH1 work |
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27 September 2024 |
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The State Highway 1 Tīrau to Waiouru accelerated maintenance project will see 4 years’ worth of road renewals completed within 16 months. This forms part of the government’s $2.07 billion investment into road and drainage renewals and maintenance between 2024 and 2027 This week we have had good weather which equals good progress. We just need more good weather! Current work underway is:
Starting Sunday:
Starting in October:
More detail on the up coming closures can be found below. Also included in this update:
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Checking the road levels SH1 between Tīrau and PutāruruIn this case, the pictures tell the story. The weather has been favourable this week, allowing some good progress to be made. |
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Foam bitumen stabilisation in action (below) |
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Keeping the dust levels down for our neighbours |
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More action photos during SH1 Tīrau - Putāruru closure |
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Foam bitumen stabilisation in action (below) |
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Detours for Ātiamuri - Wairakei closure SH1 Ātiamuri to Wairakei closureSH1 is closed during the day in both directions from Ātiamuri (SH1/SH30 intersection) to Wairakei (SH1/SH5 intersection) until Friday 4 October. Closures start from 8am and the road is open again at 6pm, Monday to Saturday. As well as being open at night, the road is open on Sundays. There are reports of people speeding on roads such as Poihipi Road, which is part of the detour. We urge people to drive to the speed limits and the conditions. We also understand that NZ Police will be patrolling the area regularly. It’s important everyone gets to where they’re going safely. As there is still considerable work required to complete the safety improvement project in this area, the team will continue with this work after the current day time closures are lifted on Friday 4 October. Traffic management such as lane shifts and temporary speed limits will be in place while this is completed. |
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Stakeholder Advisory GroupsWe are setting up regular meetings for partner, stakeholder and community representatives. It is envisaged the makeup of the group will evolve as needed to align with the project as it moves to different areas. The purpose of these groups is to help us ensure we are getting the right information to the right people, in the right formats. The group will be able to have input into planning, and troubleshoot with us on any concerns that may arise. If you or your organisation would like to know more information about this, please email us. |
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SH1 Piarere to Tīrau night closures start on SundayFrom 7pm Sunday 29 September 2024, SH1 will be closed at nights between Piarere and just north of Tīrau (SH1/SH27 intersection). Work is underway here until 6am Friday 18 October. The closures won't happen every night - they are from 7pm to 6am, Sunday to Thursday nights. The road will be open from 6am each Friday morning until 7pm Sunday nights. Residents, businesses and emergency services will have access at all times. The detour is via SH29 and SH27 as shown in the map above. The detour is 12.9 kms which equates to an extra 10 minutes of travel time. NZTA’s Regional Manager of Maintenance and Operations for Waikato and Bay of Plenty, Roger Brady, urges motorists to take extra care. “We ask motorists to use the official detours and to go carefully and drive to the conditions while doing so. “Using sideroads for shortcuts is discouraged, as many of them are not designed for large increases in traffic.” While this detour is underway at nights, Totman Road will have residents-only access.
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SH1 Tokoroa - Kinleith - Upper Ātiamuri closure Monday 7 OctoberThis is the biggest section of work undertaken so far. This closure of SH1 will start at 5am Monday 7 October 2024. This site is one of the larger and more complex ones, with worksites spanning 17km and encompassing 4 separate work areas, ranging from 2.9km to 5.7km in length. SH1 will be closed from the SH1/SH32 Tokoroa intersection to the SH1/SH30 intersection north of Ātiamuri (known to most as the Kinleith area). Emergency services will have full access through all parts of the site at all times. All through traffic, ie SH1 traffic heading to and further south will be detoured via SH32 and SH30 (also known as Maraetai Road in Tokoroa, Whakamaru Road and Ongaroto Road in Ātiamuri) and vice versa. This will add approximately 35 minutes (47km) to journey times. Local freight (say those travelling from Taupō to Tokoroa/Kinleith Mill) can use SH30/32, and freight travelling further north eg Port of Tauranga or Hamilton to use SH5/30 instead. At the Tokoroa end, our main worksite start on SH1 near Campbell Road, but we need to detour those on longer journeys down appropriate state highways. There will be a "hard closure" near Campbell Road which means that there will be strict requirements before anyone can go into that area as there will be a multitude of machines and people working on the road. Pilot vehicles will be used and there may be delays going through each of the work sites. This also means that the road between the SH1/SH32 (Maraetai Road) and the hard closure (near Campbell Road) will be available for residents, businesses, sports clubs, the school and their customers, members, pupils and employees to use for their access. Additional signage will be placed at the detour point advising businesses beyond this point are still open. We need to advise the detour earlier to those on longer journeys so they can use the appropriate state highways. The detour will remain in place for the duration of the works to maximise the efficiency of the construction work on SH1 while ensuring safety for both the team and the public. The work is expected to take 6 weeks to complete, weather permitting. We will communicate the reopening date as the work progresses, and we have more certainty. Several factors, including weather conditions (let’s hope for plenty of sunshine!), will influence the timeline.
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Keeping Tokoroa residents informed; come and talk to the project team on 3 OctoberWe are hosting a drop-in session in Tokoroa on Thursday 3 October betwen 1pm - 3pm at the South Waikato Sports and Events Centre, 25 Mossop Road in Tokoroa. The project team will be available to answer your questions and show you what is going on, especially in regards to the detours. There will be information available for you to take away. We have also completed a lot of letter-box drops of information in the Tokoroa area, so please don't put this straight in the recyling bin if you want to know more about this project. Specific routes have been designated for different sections of SH1 to ensure smooth access, especially for the residents within the closure. Our contractors (Downer) have been out and about this week visiting these properties. If you live within the closure zone and have not seen anyone and/or received a works notification letter, please contact us asap at SH1Waikato@nzta.govt.nz. We are very keen to keep you as informed as possible. We look forward to seeing those of you who can make it at the Tokoroa drop-in session. We can run more of these drop-in sessions in the future if that is what the community wants. Please contact us if you want to discuss this further. South Waikato Sports & Events Centre; venue of our drop in session on 3 October |
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Those travelling longer distancesMany people will be travelling from Auckland to Wellington and vice versa or perhaps Hamilton to Palmerston North. If this is you or your friends, there is another option you may find suitable. With the many closures and longer detour routes, it will potentially be quicker to chose an alternative route than SH1. From Hamilton, take SH3 to Te Kūiti, and then SH4 to Taumarunui and National Park, then SH49 to Ohakune and on to Waiouru (same route if you are heading north reversed). This route is also now suitable for HPMV for the duration of this T2W project. |
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Information for freightThe website for freight has been set up for this project. Please let us know if you would like to see other information up there. Currently there is are links to the approved HPMV map and HPMV information. There is also some good news for freight operators. The HPMV restrictions have been lifted on SH4 for the duration of this project. Monitoring of the road will be ongoing to ensure it is safe. Those doing long-haul trips will find this route a very good option. If you are using SH1, you need to stick to the official detours. For those thinking SH30 and SH32 may be a good route to use, think again. There are some very narrow parts of this road - 6m in some parts so is not suitable for larger vehicles. SH5 is a much safer option for freight. |
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Indicative dates of future SH1 closuresWe 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. Underway this month:
Coming up in the future:
2025 potential plans:
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.
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Businesses affected by closuresWe have received a few queries from businesses asking if there is any compensation available for those who are adversely affected by the road closures and work going on. We recognise and acknowledge there will be inconvenience and disruption to people while this work is carried out. Compensation for those impacted by any of our work is determined by the Public Works Act 1981 (PWA). Section 68 of the PWA provides that businesses are entitled to compensation for “business loss” only where they are required to relocate because land has been acquired. Therefore, businesses who are impacted by works, but are not required to relocate because we acquired their land, are not entitled to any compensation for their business losses. We are endeavouring to keep you as informed as we possibly can so that you are able to make the best decisions in your circumstances. You can help by sharing this newsletter to those who you think may need to know. Shopping local and supporting those businesses affected is also a good way to help. We acknowledge that road maintenance is disruptive. On the positive side, the road closures mean there will be relatively short periods of inconvenience, and then a considerably longer period when there are far less roadworks.. |
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More information |
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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. Please visit our website nzta.govt.nz/t2w |
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