SH1 Tīrau to Waiouru accelerated maintenance project update

Change in schedules of SH1 closures

31 October 2024

Taupō work brought forward to 11 November

A major change in the scheduling of the maintenance on SH1 between Tīrau and Waiouru has seen the closure of the East Taupō Arterial (ETA) section of SH1 brought forward to Monday 11 November 2024 for 4 weeks until 6 December.

The work required on the ETA includes rebuilding 2.5km of the road, adjusting median barriers, clearing the shoulders, repairing signs and adding in new line marking.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi Regional Manager of Maintenance and Operations for Waikato and Bay of Plenty, Roger Brady, says that this change in scheduling has a range of benefits for road users and the wider Taupō community.

“There are a number of large events planned in November and December in Taupō, including the Taupō Cycle Challenge, the Taupō Christmas Classic World Cup showjumping and Ironman 70.3 World Championship. Changing the sequence of our work on SH1 means we avoid causing considerable disruption to competitors and spectators involved in and travelling to these events.

“We had originally planned on a second SH1 closure between Ātiamuri to Wairakei to happen before this Christmas, but the work on that section will now take place in spring 2025. As a result we can fit in the work on the East Taupō arterial section of SH1 before Christmas.

“Once completed, we would only need to come back for the final surfacing early next year, minimising the overall impact of motorists.

“We’ve worked closely with Taupō District Council (TDC) to understand the best timing for closing the various sections and believe together we have come up with a solution that is best for the wider Taupō community. TDC are able to incorporate road works they need to do into our closure, and they have helped to shape our traffic management to minimise disruption as much as possible. We’d like to extend our thanks to TDC for working so collaboratively with us.

“We’d also like to thank the Taupō community and businesses for their understanding and patience. We know that we haven’t been able to provide much notice, and we apologise for this, but this short-term disruption will be worth it in the long run.

Taupō will be very busy during December and there will be pressure on the highways and local roads in the area due to the various events as well as the road works. Motorists are encouraged to use the official detour via Broadlands Road and Ohaaki Road to SH5, and vice versa. The detour adds an extra 45.5km and approximately 32 min to journeys.

Those travelling to north or south destinations either side of Taupō may prefer to use other state highway routes such as SH3, SH4 and SH49.

The East Taupō Arterial section of SH1 is well overdue for repairs

Why are we bringing the work on East Taupō Arterial forward?

As mentioned above, the main reason for this change is to avoid negatively impacting on upcoming events in Taupō, which we would have done if we stuck with the original plan of closing SH1 from Ātiamuri to Wairakei for the second time. In order to make the most of the time we have before Christmas, we can programme the ETA work to happen then instead.

Shifting these works mean we will:

• Avoid clash with events including the Ironman 70.3 World Championship. The event starts on 15 December and athletes start arriving a few weeks beforehand. This is a major event on in Taupō, attracting many supporters and spectators.
• Avoid additional closures on the SH30 Ātiamuri to SH5 Wairakei section. We were scheduled to start the second closure in November. If work on this section wasn’t able to be completed before the Ironman World Championship, we would have to stop works and come back again, causing more disruption than we want to.
• Finish the ETA section sooner. Weather depending, the new plan should allow this work to be completed quicker than it would have otherwise. Once completed, we would only need to come back for the final sealing which will be done at nights. This will avoid the need for additional full closures later in the project.
• Avoid clashes with planned Taupō District Council (TDC) works in 2025. This includes planned works on Broadlands Road, a key detour route for SH1 closures.
• Allow TDC to bring forward other urgent works. Urgent work is required on Centennial Drive which TDC can now do during the SH1 closure, minimising disruption to motorists.

Shout out to the Taupō District Council for working so constructively with us as we work through what this means for the Taupō community and trying to make the best of a tricky situation.

There will be more than one bike out and about in Taupo in November & December

SH1 closed between Putāruru and Tokoroa late November to 20 December

SH1 between Tokoroa and upper Ātiamuri is currently closed, with the road rebuilding work progressing well. Subject to this work being completed as planned by the end of November, the crews will then start work on the Putāruru to Tokoroa section in the last week of November. SH1 will be closed for approximately 4 weeks until Friday 20 December with all north and south bound vehicles being detoured 24/7.

Crews are working hard to finish work on the Tokoroa to upper Ātiamuri section. We are also depending on good weather. Once completed, over 24 lane kilometres, or nearly 130,000 square metres of road, will have been upgraded.

As soon as crews are finished there, they will be moving north to the next section. We’re unable to work on both as it’s too disruptive to have both sections closed to the public at once.

Specific work sites and final dates are expected to be confirmed in the coming week. As well as being published on our website, we will send out another e-newsletter as soon as dates can be confirmed.

We sent a letter out to impacted residences and businesses last week. If you haven’t received this or need further information, please email our stakeholder team.

Work on SH1 south of Tokoroa is well underway

A chance to meet the team and ask your questions

We are looking at holding more drop-in sessions where you can come and talk to the project team and ask any questions you may have. There won't be a presentation or any speeches, just a chance to talk to those involved in the project.

The next drop-in sessions are for those who want to know more about the Putāruru to Tokoroa closures beginning late November. 

There will be 2 sessions, both held on Thursday 14 November at the Plaza, Putāruru from 1-3pm and 4.30-6.30pm.

If Taupō people want us to hold a drop-in session, please let us know by sending an email to our team.  Another option we are looking at is holding a webinar where we will have an hour when the project team is available to answer your questions online.  If this is of interest, please let us know by sending an email. 

SH1 closures continue between Tokoroa to upper Ātiamuri

We’re now over 3 weeks into this closure and have made good progress including starting foam bitumen stabilisation. This is a process used to improve the strength of the top layer of the road surface, while making sure it is still flexible.  In the process, foamed bitumen is produced by injecting small amounts of water and air into standard road-grade bitumen at high pressure. This results in the bitumen expanding to around 20 times its original volume.

Tokoroa is still very much open for business during the road closures, including those businesses located just south of SH32 such as Robert Harris and Subway.  Access is also being maintained for emergency vehicles and residents.

As indicated above, it is expected that this section will be completed before the end of November.  This is dependent on a number of factors, the most important being the weather!

Nightworks between Piarere and Tīrau completed

Even though the weather tried to put a dampener on things, the nightworks were completed on SH1 between Piarere and Tīrau on 22 October.

As you can see in the photo below, the results of the crew’s hard work are looking great. 

A special thanks goes to the Totman Road resident who brought our traffic control cups of tea and snacks during the long and cold nights. This brought a smile to us all.

The nuts and bolts of major maintenance projects

Maintenance projects like this one aren’t like your normal infrastructure projects and this has at times impacted on our ability to communicate closures and timeframes as early as people would like and normally expect.

There is a lot of logistics involved, from the standard things like organising people, sourcing materials, working with tight timeframes and budgets. There is also challenging and changing road conditions, variable and unpredictable weather to contend with while also making sure community and road users needs are met. 

A lot goes into running a successful project where things can change daily. It’s a real team effort where collaboration and flexibility are key. 

Over the next few weeks in this newsletter, we’ll dig into what makes a project like this tick. We’ll cover the planning, enabling works, communications and stakeholder relations, traffic management, and all the different contractors involved. 

This week, we’ll cover what is involved in the planning going into this work.

Planning a massive project takes teamwork and flexibility

Planning starts months in advance, with identification of the areas of road that need work. Once this is confirmed, NZTA, our contractors (in this case, Downer NZ), and various sub-contractors, get together to figure out how the work can be completed.

This project was a little different as we brought forward maintenance that was planned in the next few years. This has meant that we have had to pack in a lot of planning, and be very flexible, to work the schedule out. We look at the sequencing of the works, where all the machinery needs to be across the network, where the materials will be sourced from, and what crew is available to do the work.  For instance whether the suppliers have enough metal available needs to be confirmed – a crucial ingredient for road rebuilding! 

The state highway network doesn’t exist in isolation and there is often other maintenance work that local councils are doing that can mean we can’t do our work when we need to, or that might be looking to use the same machinery, crew or materials that we require. So we work closely with local councils to factor all of this into our planning. 

Maintenance happens on roads that people use every day and closing parts of the network has big impacts of people’s lives. We try to understand this as best we can so we can try to minimise disruption and work in with the local community. This information can result in shifting a closure point, adjusting a detour route, adding additional signage or, in the case of the East Taupō Arterial, moving the schedule around to avoid clashes with major events. 

The one thing we can’t control is the weather, and we’ve already seen the impacts bad weather has on our planning. The Piarere to Tīrau works went a little longer than planned because of the rain in early October. This impacts our ability to not only deliver that section on time, but it can have a flow on impact to other sections too. 

The planning team works hard to make sure all these things are managed to make sure a successful project is delivered. 

Think of them the next time it rains. 

Stakeholder Advisory Group

We held a stakeholder advisory group meeting in September and are planning the next one. With the change in schedule of where the road closures and works will take place, perhaps other people want to join the next meeting. 

These stakeholder advisory groups are for partner, stakeholder and community representatives. 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 community concerns that may arise.

We haven't set a date yet, but hope to be sending out invites to those interested and those who have already attended the previous meeting shortly for a hui sometime during the week beginning 11 November.

If you or your organisation would like to know more information about this, or be part of it, please email us.

New timetable

This is the updated overall timetable for the project, as at 31 October 2024. 

More information

This work forms part of the government’s $2.07 billion investment into road and drainage renewal and maintenance across 2024-27 via the State Highway Pothole Prevention fund.

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