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SH1 Tīrau to Waiouru accelerated maintenance project updateSection updates: We're almost at the end of road works season. |
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28 March 2025 |
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In this week's issue:
• Putāruru to Lichfield: Update Current closures 2 closures between Tīrau and Taupō:
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Putāruru to Lichfield: UpdateWe’re heading towards the end of our road maintenance season at a great rate of knots, and you’ll be as excited as we are about reopening the Putāruru to Lichfield section that we have been working on over the past month. During the closure we have rebuilt and repaired just over 2 lane kms of road. The photos show current progress on site. We are expecting to open this section under traffic management at the end of next week, as always, weather dependent. Please be assured we are getting the work done as fast as we can so we can lift that detour, and everyone can resume normal programming. Please follow the signposted detour route and stick to the speed limits. We’re nearly done! |
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Putāruru to Lichfield detour worksSouth Waikato District Council has been doing some urgent work on the Lichfield detour this week. There is active traffic management in place while they do some repairs, there are likely to be delays so please plan for this. Please follow the traffic management and stick to the speed limits. |
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Putāruru to Tokoroa: Final surfacing coming next seasonWe have decided to complete the final surfacing at the southern end of this section next road maintenance season, rather than this season as previously indicated. We are still working on the programme for next season and will let you know as soon as we have the dates and plan confirmed. It is likely to be night work under stop/go traffic management. We will also need to complete the final surfacing in the current area we have been working on next summer. |
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Ātiamuri to Wairakei: UpdateA lot has been happening between Ātiamuri and Wairakei and we’re hoping to be done by the end of next weekend, weather dependent! The Tīrau to Waiouru team will have completed just under 9 lane kms of road rebuilding and repairs when we finish up here. We are just lining up our programme with Higgins who is also completing work in the zone which we covered in last week’s newsletter. This section will open under traffic management for approximately 2 days (depending on the weather) to allow the chipseal to bed in. We will then need to complete the line marking so there will still be some disruption after we open this section. These progress pics show overlay material being placed and drag brooming which is where we even out the final basecourse layer in preparation for sealing. There is also milling work which is where we take out the existing road pavement and add in new material to build it back stronger. Our team is committed to delivering road users a better driving experience on the sections of SH1 we’re working on and we’re confident you’ll appreciate the finished product. Bear with us, we’re nearly there! We know there has been so much work done in this area, between maintenance and safety improvements, and we thank you for your patience. Please follow the detour route and stick to the speed limits. |
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Traffication: Did we just make up a word?When we open new sections of road we’ve worked on, we need to bed in the chipseal properly before we remove traffic management and temporary speed limits. This period of temporary traffic management has been coined “traffication”. No, it’s not in the Oxford Dictionary but it is a technical term that is used a lot in roading, so we’re claiming it! The sealing chip needs to bond with the newly built road beneath with the use of Bitumen Emulsion (BE) sprayed onto the road surface. Initially to bed the sealing chip onto the BE we use a Pneumatic Tyre Roller (PTR), but the process needs to be finished using “traffication” due to the high volumes of traffic using the State Highway. Conan, who we introduced you to last week has helped us with this job on SH1 Desert Road, moving cones in carefully controlled patterns, encouraging vehicles to travel evenly across the road’s width and fully bed in the sealing chip. “Traffication” is usually required for at least 48 hours after sealing. However, if we don’t “trafficate” the new sealed surface and vehicles follow a single line of travel, or too fast over the fresh seal, then the chip is likely to pluck out and strip. |
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SH1 Desert Road this morning |
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Cone-free Desert Road updateAll temporary speed limits and traffic management was lifted on Wednesday afternoon on State Highway 1 Desert Road. We really appreciate your patience while we completed this work and put the finishing touches, including the last step of adding the icing – aka line marking. We will be back next maintenance season to complete the final seal on this section. Our programme for that work is still being finalised. We will let you know our plan as soon as we can. Late last Friday afternoon we identified that there were some issues with one section of road, north of Mangatoetoenui Bridge. Seal was lifting along a 1.2km section – which was discovered when the team swept the road ready for line marking. We acted quickly to rectify this last weekend under stop/go traffic management. It’s all fixed now and looking good! Over the 8 weeks we worked in this area we rebuilt and repaired 28 lane kms of road, 12 lane kms more than we originally planned. We also completely rebuilt the deck of the Mangatoetoenui Bridge, located 23 km south of Rangipō.
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Meet the crewWe have some great people working on the T2W project. The people employed on this project were chosen, not just for their experience and specialist skills but also for their passion about the work. They’re committed to delivering road users a better driving experience on the sections of SH1 they’re working on. Sky is one of these people – she was one of our Traffic Controllers on SH1 Desert Road. Our Traffic Controllers are at the coalface of our works and it’s not an easy job, particularly when you’re managing road closures. A recent survey shows 1 in 4 road workers is abused by motorists on a daily basis. As our Northland Regional Manager of Maintenance and Operations told RNZ; “We really need to do better as a society." We love Sky’s enthusiasm for this project and for keeping everyone safe. We also feel like a pie and a coke after what has been a massive season.
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It’s a big job: What’s left to do on T2WThe end of the road maintenance season is in sight and that means the Tīrau to Waiouru Accelerated Maintenance project will be taking a hiatus too. We have approximately one week of work left at Putāruru to Lichfield and one week left at Ātiamuri, as always, weather dependent. There is a big programme of work still needed next season. SH1 Desert Road is open now but we will be returning to do the final seal there, most likely under stop go and at night. We will also be returning to Tokoroa to Ātiamuri and the Tīrau township and Ātiamuri to Wairakei to do final sealing work there too. Oh, and we’ll do the final surfacing on the East Taupō Arterial and the work that’s needed between Taupō and Tūrangi. |
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More information |
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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. Visit our website nzta.govt.nz/t2w Check out Journey Planner before you leave for your travels - it will show you the best routes! |
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