Te Ara Tūtohu: Waitara to Bell Block

22 November 2023

Section of SH3 to be closed as next stage of construction begins

We’re making good progress on the construction of a safety enhancing roundabout and pedestrian underpass at the intersection of State Highway 3 (SH3) and Princess Street in Waitara.

Since May we’ve achieved some notable milestones, including constructing the Manukorihi stormwater treatment wetland swale, completing the first half of the pedestrian underpass, and finalising the southbound lane of the roundabout, which has involved some complex underground works.

Closure of SH3 for next stage of construction to begin

On 11 December, Stage 3 of construction at the Princess Street roundabout will begin.

This involves constructing the northbound lane of the roundabout and completing the pedestrian underpass. At the same time, workers will widen the road and start installing flexible median barrier between Bayly Street and Mamaku Road. They’ll also commence construction on a stormwater outfall at the northern end of the Waitara River bridge which will release treated stormwater into the awa.

There’s a lot of work to do so to ensure we can get it done safely and efficiently we need to put a full road closure in place to complete the work.

Traffic management from 11 December – 2 February

To complete this work, SH3 between Nelson Street and Bayly Street will be closed from 11 December 2023 until 2 February 2024, with a detour in place through Waitara township.

Workers will be onsite 12 hours a day, six days a week except for Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Night works will be required from time to time.

Traffic management staff will be on site 24/7. Emergency Services will be able to travel through the closure.

While the road is closed, workers will also install a watermain for New Plymouth District Council – preventing the need for council to come back and do this work later.

Detour route

To keep the detour route safe for everyone, we will implement a number of temporary safety changes:

• Sections of Nelson Street and Bayly Street with 80km/h speed limits will be temporarily reduced to 50km/h for the duration of the SH3 closure.
   
• A 30km/h temporary speed limit will be in place on McLean Street from Grey Street through to West Quay and at the intersection of Richmond and Princess Streets. Access to and from Harris Street and Richmond Street at this intersection will also change.
   
• Temporary traffic lights will be installed at pedestrian crossings on the detour route during the crossover with the school term.

Download the detour map from our website

Princess Street East/Tikorangi

Princess Street through the intersection with SH3, and a small section of the southbound lane on Rahiri St, will be reduced to one lane under stop/go traffic management with a 30km/h temporary speed limit in place. People should expect delays of five minutes.

There will be no access to SH3 from Princess Street.

Residents and businesses on Mamaku Road

The intersection of SH3 and Mamaku Road will be closed for the duration of the SH3 closure. Residents and businesses on Mamaku Road will be able to access SH3 via Waitara Road.

The decision to keep this intersection closed was made as it would be unsafe to allow residents to travel through while construction is underway.

We acknowledge that this is a significant inconvenience for residents and business on Mamaku Road, however this closure will allow us to get this important work done as quickly as possible avoiding prolonged disruption to the community and everyone who uses the road.

Why we’re closing the road

We understand that the closure of this section of SH3 and detour will be inconvenient for the local community and everyone who uses this stretch of road.

We explored two other options for getting this work completed that didn’t involve closing the road completely. These options would have resulted in disruption for up to 18 months.

Doing this work under a road closure for eight weeks over summer minimises the length of time traffic is disrupted and coincides with the school holidays – reducing the level of impact it would otherwise have.

It also allows us to construct the section of the pedestrian underpass under the northbound lane at the Princess Street intersection ahead of schedule.

From 2 February 2024, SH3 is expected to reopen to two lanes of traffic.

The opening of SH3 may be pushed out if work is delayed by bad weather. We will keep the community up to date on how work is progressing and if we will need to keep the road closed beyond 2 February. At the latest, SH3 will be open in time for Americarna on 21 February.

Staying safe

The detour will mean a lot more traffic in Waitara, particularly during peak times.

To ensure the safety of Waitara residents and people using the road, Waka Kotahi is working with New Plymouth District Council to implement a number of safety measure while the detour is in place.

These include temporary speed limits throughout the route, temporary pedestrian crossings and road markers and bollards to separate and slow traffic.

The detour route will be closely monitored by traffic management crews and will be adjusted if necessary.

What you can do to help keep everyone safe:

• Stick to the temporary speed limits and keep an eye out for people walking and cycling.
• When out walking and cycling along the detour route, be aware of the increase in traffic and take extra care.
• Let your tamariki know there will be more cars and trucks on the road and encourage them to be extra careful and always cross at the dedicated crossing points.
• Report any issues or instances of poor driver behaviour to Waka Kotahi or NZ Police.

Map of detour and closure

More information

For more information on Te Ara Tūtohu: Waitara to Bell Block, contact us at w2bb@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/w2bb