Brynderwyn Hills recovery and enabling works

25 March 2024

SH1 Brynderwyn Hills open for 6 days over Easter holiday period

With Easter fast approaching our crews are hard at work preparing the road for a temporary reopening. This will allow for easier movement of increased traffic over the busy holiday period. SH1 Brynderwyn Hills will be open to all traffic from 12.01 am Thursday morning 28 March to 11:59pm Tuesday night 2 April.

Those travelling over the hill will see at ground level the scale and complexity of the recovery works undertaken so far. For the safety of all road users, we ask people to drive to the conditions, observe any temporary speed limits and signage and allow extra time for their journey with the increased traffic levels.

We wish you all a safe and happy Easter and thank you for your support and patience during the first part of the full closure.

Benching works at one of the northern sites in the Brynderwyns Hills closure

What's been happening this week

We’re making great progress with over 122,000 cubic metres cut from the hillside already. That’s more than 6,500 fills of a Moxy truck!

A number of these cuts have been to create levels in the slopes, also known as benches. Bench cutting is a common method for stabilising banks that have potential to slip. Some banks have 2 bench cuts (high and low) with a rock drain installed closest to the bank to capture and slow rain run-off. The top bench is 2.5m wide and the bottom bench is approximately 5m wide, its purpose is to allow access for future maintenance works.

Photo updates

Four excavators at work on a site near to waterfall corner

The super reach excavator we introduced you to a few weeks ago cutting a bench at a southern site in the closure

A wider angle shot of the southern site in the Brynderwyn Hills closure

Follow the NZTA Northland Facebook page to stay up to date with more weekly progress photos and footage.

Equipment profile- helicopter and drones

In our last issue, we talked about hydroseeding that had started on some of the slopes to help with erosion control. You can see this in action in the photo above. 

By using a helicopter, we can cover 5000 m2 in 4 hours and together with our ground operations we can spray up to 40 metres up the bank from the back of a truck.  

Helicopters and drones have been extremely useful on the project given the height of the hills and the movement of the slopes while we are working on them.

When refuelling 2 large diggers on the crest of the Brynderwyns, a helicopter was used to carry fuel to the site over 10 days of excavations. This was the most efficient and safest way to complete the task. 

You may have seen some of the drone photos we have shared on social media. These photos along with footage are a great way to help us monitor progress, identify potential trouble spots, and provide an integrated perspective of the project that we don’t see from the ground.

Moxy trucks emptying their loads at one of the fill site

Your questions – what's the dirt on the dirt

From our pictures and videos over the last 3 weeks, you will have seen the massive scale of the earthworks. Not surprisingly we have been asked what we are doing with all this dirt.  

The excavated dirt will stay within the project area and will be transported to one of the fill sites created specially for this project and for benching (creating levels) and terracing in others. 

Reusing all this soil also has environmental benefits; keeping it within the project area helps prevent the spread of Kauri dieback disease.

Meet Paul Linton- Northland Inc

Outside of the direct project team we engage with and work alongside a number of organisations, one of these is Northland Inc. 

What is your role? I am the Chief Executive of Northland Inc, the Regional Economic Development Agency. Our work encompasses the Regional Tourism Organisation and central government’s Regional Business Partner Network, as well a range of initiatives designed to deliver economic and social benefits across the region.

Why is this project special?  It’s been great to see the different groups and industries come together for a common goal, to make sure the Brynderwyns connection is reliable for the short to medium term. I chair the Northland steering group so we can represent what is important to Northland businesses and the community, minimising the impacts of the closure where we can. We know from the previous severe weather events the impact that unpredictable closures had on tourism, businesses, communities, and economy. Doing this work now means we have a reliable connection for Northland this winter and beyond.  

Tell us something about yourself I love being active outside of work you’ll find me surfing at our beautiful beaches or in the gym. I also love learning and trying new things and have started learning to play the piano.

Anything else to share? Northland is ready to welcome everyone and showcase all the great things that the region has to offer, no matter the route you take to get here. We are famously known as the winterless north and have a number of exciting experiences, events and places that make this Easter a memorable one, enjoy it in Northland style.

Key information at a glance

SH 1 Brynderwyn Hills closure status

Closed: 26 February (12:01 am) - 27 March (11:59pm)

Open: 28 March (12:01 am) - 2 April (11:59 am)

Closed: 3 April (12:01 am) - 12 May (11:59 pm)

Three scenic detour routes

Cove Road route: Turn off at Kaiwaka, use Kaiwaka Mangawhai Road, Garbolino Road, Tara Road, Cove Road, Nova Scotia Drive and connect back to State Highway 1. (Restrictions are in place for trucks with trailers on Cove Road between Mangawhai Heads Road and McLean Road).

Paparoa Oakleigh Road route:Trucks and trucks with trailers up to 50 tonnes can use this route.

SH12/SH14 route: HPMV (high productivity motor vehicles) must use this route.

Local routes contact: 

Whangarei District Council 0800 932 463

Kaipara District Council 0800 727 059

State Highway route contact:

NZTA 0800 444 449

More information

For more information on the SH1 Brynderwyn Hills project, contact us at northlandproject@nzta.govt.nz

Visit the project website www.nzta.govt.nz/brynderwyn-hills