Latest information on SH1, Cambridge to Piarere

Minister of Transport visits State Highway 1/29 intersection improvements site 

Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, was welcomed to the site of the new State Highway 1 (SH1) / State Highway 29 (SH29) roundabout at Piarere late last month.

Minister Brown’s visit celebrated the start of construction on this exciting project, with work now well underway.

“Seeing construction starting on this intersection is a very significant milestone for the SH1 corridor and visiting the site gave me a real sense of the scale of the roundabout,” Minister Brown said.  

The Minister was joined on site by representatives from NZTA, mana whenua – Ngāti Korokī Kahukura and Ngāti Hauā Iwi Trust and chairs, mayors, and councillors from local councils.

He was also accompanied by a variety of his parliament colleagues, with Tom Rutherford (MP for Bay Of Plenty), Tim Van de Molen (MP for Waikato), Louise Upston (MP for Taupō), Ryan Hamilton (MP for Hamilton East) and Sam Uffindell (MP for Tauranga) all present.

Once completed, the 60-metre-wide roundabout will greatly improve safety and wait times for people travelling through Waikato.  

Read more on the project here.

Gorton Road turnaround progressing

Construction of the turnaround bay at Gorton Road continues.

While construction crews are onsite, there is no right turn onto Gorton Road. This means that southbound traffic wanting to access Gorton Road is travelling to the new turnaround bay at Keeley’s Reserve to change direction. This adds around 4-6 minutes to your journey.

Previously the right turn onto Gorton was reopening on weekends/outside of work hours, however this is no longer occuring. This is due to staff on site identifying it causes confusion to motorists and it's not safe to continue.

The left turn onto Gorton Road and left and right turn onto SH1 will remain for the duration of construction, with a stop sign rule applied.

Part of this project requires work to take place alongside a section of SH1 opposite Tunakawa Road. Due to the high traffic volume along SH1, and given the nature of works required, this work must be undertaken at night.

Here's when night work is happening and what to expect:

Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 February – between 8pm and 6am, Stop/Go will be in place along SH1. This will affect Gorton Road and Tunakawa Road. We expect work to be completed over two nights however a potential third night may be needed. Traffic management will be removed before the weekend.

Thursday 22 February – between 10pm and 5am Gorton Road will require a full road closure to carry out the asphalt surfacing work at the intersection.

Work on the Gorton Road turnaround is expected to be completed by the end of this month, after which work will begin on the Tunakawa Road turnaround.

Work on both turnarounds is expected to be completed by mid-April, after which the installation of flexible median barrier from Tunakawa Road to Fergusson Gully Road can begin.

Map correction

Please see below a revised version of the map which was circulated in the previous update. The ‘no right turn’ symbols have been removed from Moana Roa Road and Kentucky Road. We apologise for any confusion caused.

What's next?

SH1, Hickey Road: Planning is underway for the construction of a turnaround bay just north of Hickey Road, with work expected to get underway on site in the coming weeks. More information will be provided to nearby properties ahead of construction.

SH1, Keeley's Reserve: The turnaround lighting will be installed in conjuction with upcoming concrete work. An island will be installed to restrict traffic turning right out of Keeley's Reserve, once the Gorton Road and Tunakawa Road turnarounds are in place and the median barrier between these and the reserve has been installed.

Long-term improvements: Work continues on securing route protection of the 16km expressway between Cambridge and Piarere.

The project team has been busy over the last year undertaking more site visits and preparing the Assessment of Environmental Effects (AEE) to support the Notices of Requirement (NoRs) to secure the route and resource consent applications (RMA applications) for the project. Their specialists (for example ecology, noise and vibration, and stormwater) prepare these AEEs to identify environmental effects of the project and how they can be avoided, remedied or mitigated.

Once route protection is secured, funding must be confirmed. Then the next stages include detailed design, tendering and construction.

The level of funding available for different transport activities is determined by the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). NZTA allocates funding for specific projects and programmes through the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP), prioritising funding for projects within the levels set by the GPS. The NLTP gives effect to the GPS and we will know more once it has been determined by the government.

Additional information

For more information on the Cambridge to Piarere project, contact us at c2p@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/c2p