The first of 14 steel shared path supports was attached to Ōtaki River Bridge earlier this month.

First shared path steel bracket attached to bridge

Construction on the Ōtaki River Bridge shared path clip-on began last month. The Ōtaki shared pathway is part of and funded through the Peka Peka to Ōtaki (PP2Ō) Expressway project and will create safer, more enjoyable journeys — not just for cyclists and pedestrians — but for motorists too.

Despite contending with four different weather events in the first month of installation, progress on the shared path is going well. Earlier this month our crew attached the first of 14 steel support brackets to Ōtaki River Bridge. These steel supports will eventually hold the shared path bridge, allowing pedestrians and cyclists to cross the bridge well clear of other road users. The steel supports are craned into position, bolted to the bridge piers, and extend 4 metres from the side of the bridge.

Traffic management and lights

Thank you everyone for the patience you've shown while the stop/go is in place at Ōtaki River Bridge. It's much appreciated by NZTA and our crew on site.

While most road users have followed traffic management in place, there have been some incidents of road users running red lights at the bridge. This meant traffic at the opposite end of the bridge had to wait for oncoming traffic to clear the bridge while they had a green light. Please be considerate of others and follow the traffic management rules.

We’ve made some changes to the waiting times at the bridge. Previously, outside of regular hours of construction, the traffic management was set to a 90-second timer. We’ve now reduced the waiting time to 45 seconds.

During regular daytime construction hours, we’ll continue to prioritise the dominant flow of traffic. This means priority is given to southbound traffic in the morning and to northbound traffic in the evenings, with traffic traveling against that dominant flow allowed through when appropriate.

Schedule of works

If you have any questions or concerns during construction, you can contact our contractor Downer on 022 505 7152 or via manawatuenquiries@downer.co.nz.

Peka Peka to Ōtaki corridor improvements

New speed limits have been approved for the area of old State Highway 1 between Te Horo and Ōtaki. These new speed limits will complement the Peka Peka to Ōtaki revocation work and be approprite for its future status as a local road.

With the Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway open, the status of old SH1 as a state highway will be removed and responsibility for it will be transferred from us to Kāpiti Coast District Council. Before that happens, we’re undertaking work to make sure the section is fit-for-purpose as a local road. We’re currently finalising details on these works, and we’ll give an update on this program later this year.

As a road controlling authority, we have a responsibility to set speed limits to maintain the state highway network. Until the new 2024 Speed Rule comes into force later this year, we continue to set and review speed limits as required under the current Setting of Speed Limits 2022 Rule. Once the new 2024 Rule is in place, we’ll assess these speed limits to ensure alignment with the new Rule and provide implementation dates accordingly.

These new speed limits are in line with the speed limit changes proposed at consultation:

Waeranga Road to Riverbank Road - 50km/h (currently 70km/h)
Riverbank Road to Ōtaki Gorge Road - 50km/h (currently 100km/h)
Ōtaki Gorge Road to Te Horo, through to Te Kowhai Road - 80km/h (currently 80km/h)

More information

Contractor Downer can be contacted on 022 505 7152 or via manawatuenquiries@downer.co.nz.

Otherwise, please visit nzta.govt.nz/otaki-shared-path/.