Road layout at Portland from 13 February

Road layout changes near Portland Road next week

Next Wednesday night, temporary steel barriers will be installed along SH1 either side of Portland Road, traffic lanes will be shifted westwards, access to Loop Road (south) will be stopped and a changed intersection priority put in place at the Portland Road intersection.

Shifting the traffic westwards will provide space to construct the new left turn slip lane into Portland Road and the widening works required to improve the intersection.

From 7pm on Wednesday 12 February the state highway will be reduced to a single lane under manual stop/go traffic control to enable the barriers to be installed and road layout changed.

From 6am Thursday morning, the new road layout will be in place and the intersection of Loop Road (south) and SH1 will be closed.

Access to Otaika Valley and Mangakahia will be via SH15 at Loop Road (north). Pedestrians and cyclists can still access Loop Road (south) from SH1, as a safer alternative than travelling though the construction area on SH1.

Construction programmes can change at short notice due to unplanned events and weather. If the nightworks do not occur as planned on Wednesday night, the contingency date for these works is Thursday 13 February.

Changes at Portland Road

A haul road will be constructed across Portland Road and there will be periods of stop/go traffic control to allow earthworks to be transported across the road.

To slow traffic approaching the haul road on Portland Road, left turn movements into Portland Road will be required to give way to SH1 traffic turning right into Portland Road.

A right turn bay will be installed on SH1 to improve safety for turning traffic.

Please slow down travelling though the area as contractors are working close to the road.

Nightworks north of the roundabout - late February

There will be one night of works immediately north of Loop Road (north) to remove a section of temporary steel barriers (at the bottom of the hill before the passing lane) to provide site access for culvert installation.

Barrier removal is programmed to occur the week commencing 24 February, with the date for night works to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

During the nightworks the state highway will be reduced to a single lane under manual stop/go traffic control.

The temporary steel barriers will be replaced with road cones and water filled barriers and the temporary spped limit of 30km/hr will extend north to include this section.

Culvert installation north of the roundabout is expected to take one week, before the temporary steel barriers are reinstalled in this location during the week commencing 2 March.

One night of works will be required to reinstall the barriers. 

Progress update

Portland Road intersection

Piling works are currently underway on the bridge widening.
Tree felling began at the end of last year and will resume again shortly.

The dwelling at 5 Portland Road is scheduled to be relocated to Otaika Valley Road overnight on Tuesday 18 February.

Roundabout

Installing underground services and drainage continues, with the final box culvert to be installed once drainage works are completed.

Earthworks

Throughout December and January, Wilsons have been working towards finishing the majority of the bulk earthworks north of Loop Road. The remaining bulk of earthworks is local to the area around the box culvert - a total length of 300 metres and an average dig of 500mm.

Wilsons will be finished hauling material from the north end of SH1 by the end of February, leaving us with minor works requiring smaller machines.

Contact the SH1 Loop Road project team

If you have any concerns or queries about the project please call Mel Norris from Fulton Hogan on 0800 577 623.

Road users can also contact the Transport Agency at any time on 0800 44 44 49.

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