Traffic will be on the Huntly section over the Taupiri Range later in February.

December 2019

Work wraps up this summer on two of the remaining three sections of the Waikato Expressway.

Longswamp section will have traffic on all four lanes before Christmas and traffic will be on the new Huntly section later in February.

Huntly is a 15km greenfields project and will open fully completed, with traffic on all lanes at 100km/h some time after a public access day on 15 February.

With traffic already on some lanes, Longswamp’s “opening” will be progressive, with traffic moving to all four new lanes before Christmas. Further asphalt works will be completed on the north-bound lanes in February-March.

The Hamilton project – the biggest of all the sections – has moved past the halfway stage with the focus shifting from earthmoving and drainage to completing bridges and pavement construction. The Hamilton completion date is late 2021.

For more expressway information – photos, videos, news – go to the website where you can also sign up for emailed section updates. Or like us on Facebook to get progress news and posts most days.

Looking north over the 5.9km Longswamp project.

Longswamp

Finishing works continue on the 5.9km Longswamp section which has seen the existing State Highway 1 route widened from 2-3 lanes to four, with central and side barriers.

Traffic will be on all four lanes ahead of the holidays this month, south-bound at 100km/h while north-bound will remain at 70km/h until early next year.

In the past month the south-bound lanes have had Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) laid, and this work will continue on the north-bound lanes, with the remainder done in February-March.

Construction started in early 2017, building the south-bound lanes first. With traffic running on those new lanes, earthworks, drainage and road building have  been under way on the north-bound lanes for the past year.

To read the most recent update, and a graphic showing the local road connections, go to www.nzta.govt.nz/longswamp

The new Huntly section stretches out to the north under the Gordonton Road bridge at Taupiri.

Huntly

We are really looking forward to showing off the completed Huntly project in February ahead of opening to traffic.

The 15km route, which takes SH1 east of Huntly across lowlands and over the Taupiri Range, is going to be an  interesting drive.

We are planning a public open day on Saturday 15 February so people can run, walk, cycle or bus along the new highway. There’s a lot of interest in the Expressway Classic half-marathon and shorter running and walking events in the morning too. You can find out more about these events and register at www.expresswayclassic.co.nz

With the end in sight, road building and pavement surfacing continue, including laying SMA asphalt, barrier installation and line marking.

The last few hundred thousand native plants went into the ground in spring – bringing the total to 1.3 million.

Some of those plants have gone in around the Te Iringa Lagoon, just north of Orini Road, where we will base the opening events.

This area will have four large waka-maumahara in place to mark its cultural significance, as do other sites where pou, gateways and palisades will appear.

You can view spring progress in the latest video flyover, with project director Tony Adams doing the voiceover. See this on the website under the videos tab.

Find out more about the completion events in the latest media release

A service centre has been built on the western side of the Gordonton Interchange. This is a private development and not part of the expressway project.

We had a good crowd turn up laist month for a bus ride along part of the Hamilton section.

Hamilton

This 22km section is the final piece in the 102km Waikato Expressway and will open to traffic in 2021.

The City Edge Alliance team are busy right across the greenfields route on Hamilton’s eastern side, making the most of the weather to finish off earthworks and drainage, advance road building (pavement) and complete bridges.

Pavement is a focus this summer, working from north to south as earthworks and drainage teams wrap up their works, and hand over to the pavements team – the people and machines who build the layers of rock for the final surface.

There are 17 bridges on the project with half now complete. Horsham Downs Road has been closed for  more than a year while we build a bridge over the expressway, and that will open with traffic on 19 December. Thanks to all the patient locals who have been inconvenienced by the detour.

Meanwhile major bridge construction continues at Mangaonua, Mangaharakeke and Mangaone gullies at the south end of the project.

At Tamahere – where the project mixes with 30,000-plus vehicles a day – we have now completed an awkward tie-in at the Tamahere Interchange which needed a six-week detour. Thanks again to all SH1 users who were detoured. The good news is that’s the last disruptive work in that stretch, but there will be further lane movements as we make room for the four-lane highway.

Please note the 50km/h speed restriction through the site at Tamahere and drive with care.

The annual project open day last month proved popular, with about 2000 people hopping on buses for a look at progress.

Don’t forget the visitor centre is open weekdays at our site office in Ryburn Road, signposted off Ruakura Road. There are also lots of resources on the website including video updates and flyovers.

You can sign up for monthly updates and the quarterly Project Updates on the website. Read the latest here 

More information

For more information on the Waikato Expressway, contact us at waikatoexpressway@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/waikato-expressway