SH1 Tīrau to Waiouru accelerated maintenance project update

SH1 Putāruru to Tokoroa to open next week

13 December 2024

Christmas countdown

Our State Highway 1 (SH1) project is getting wrapped up for 2024, with just 1 closure currently in place - and that will soon be open. 

Here’s a quick summary and read on for further detail about the various sections.

Current closures: 

• SH1 between Putāruru and Tokoroa until Friday 20 December (at the latest).

Next closures: 

• SH1 between Tūrangi and Waiouru (includes Desert Road) will close from Monday 13 January for approximately 2 months.
• SH1 from just south of Tīrau to just north of Putāruru, planned night closure from 19 January for 10 nights, subject to this week’s final testing on the surface to see if it is ready. 

Open under temporary traffic management (which may include some sections under stop/go): 

• The northern section of SH1 between Upper Ātiamuri and Wairakei until mid-December.

Outside of this project but for your information, there is another highway closure happening this weekend: 

• SH5 between Wairakei and Golden Springs will be closed from 6am to 5pm on for the Vinfast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships. 

We recommend checking the NZTA journey planner for more information on closures and travel times.

SH1 between Putāruru and Tokoroa work ahead of schedule

Work is progressing well on this section of SH1.

We are quietly confident the highway will be open under temporary speed limits for traffication early next week and then will be fully open before the deadline of Friday 20 December.

Resealing work is planned near Lichfield Friday 13 December and Saturday 14 December. On Sunday night we are planning further surfacing work, as long as the weather co-operates. There has been a lot of rolling on the chipseal sites in preparation for opening the road. 

Until then, please take care on the detour route as it’s narrower and windier than SH1. A temporary speed limit of 70km/h is in place on this route to help keep everyone safe.

The detour is (from north to south) Princes Street, Arapuni Street, Arapuni Road, Old Taupō Road, SH32 - Tokoroa and vice versa. This adds approximately 20 mins and 18km to journey times compared to the normal trip from Putāruru to Tokoroa down SH1.

Warning signs have been installed to help remind motorists that the route is seeing more traffic than would usually be expected on a country road.

The detour for HPMVs travelling from Tīrau to Taupō is State Highway 5 and trucks should use this rather than local detours. 

Tīrau to Putāruru final testing this week

Today we’re doing the last round of testing on SH1 between Tīrau and Putāruru, and subject to the results being what we expect, we are proposing to be back to put on the final asphalt surface from 19 January 2025.

This will be done during night closures and is expected to take 10 nights. 

Letters to residents and neighbours are expected to go out early in the new year once we have all the test results back, are happy with them and can definitely confirm the dates of the final surfacing.

SH30 Ātiamuri to SH5 Wairakei

The work happening in this area has had many challenges, but is now on target to be finished next week. 

There will be no stop/go traffic management in place for this weekend while the IRONMAN World Championship competition is on. 

Further work is required on the other parts of the road in this area is scheduled for March 2025 under full closure. This will include foam bitumen stabilisation and structural asphalt. We will have more details about this early next year.

IRONMAN happening this weekend in Taupō

This weekend will see a section of SH5 north of Taupō closed for the Vinfast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships for 2024. 

 The cycle leg of the event uses SH5 between Wairakei and Golden Springs, which will be closed from 6am to 5pm on Saturday 14 and  Sunday 15 December.  

Traffic travelling between Taupō and Rotorua this weekend will be detoured via SH1 and SH30 through Ātiamuri while SH5 is closed. Drivers should be aware that Broadlands Road, a common alternative route between Taupō and Rotorua, will also be closed as it is on the cycle route.

SH1 Desert Road to close 13 January 2025

Thanks to all those in and around Turangi who met with some of the team earlier this week.  If anyone needs further information, please email us with your questions.

In making our decision to do this closure in January, we took into account the average ground temperatures. We  need an average ground temperature of 13 degrees for the work to be successful. Unfortunately pushing the work further into March wouldn't work as up to half of the available working days in March have a ground temperature of below 13 degrees.

Overnight minimum temperatures start to drop below zero across the Desert Road in March meaning the possibility of ground frosts, something which rarely occurs in January and February. We can't risk closing this road later in the year as it could mean our work wouldn't be at the quality needed and that would mean we would have to be back again sooner.

The detour is (from north to south) – SH41, SH47, SH4, SH49 and back to SH1 in Waiouru. This will add around 30 – 40 minutes to a journey, so why not take the time to see what else lies along the route?

The road takes in a different view of the central plateau and the maunga – Ruapehu, Ngaruahoe and Tongariro – which dominate it. 

Both National Park and Ohakune are known as winter destinations for snow lovers, but there’s plenty on offer during summer, including all the outdoor attractions in the Tongariro National Park, a World Heritage area. 

SH46, which includes access to the world famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing, will still be open, however there will be no throughfare to or from SH1.

Also, the Tongariro National Trout Centre will be open as normal, with access from Tūrangi only.

For more information about what to do in the Ruapehu District go to visitruapehu.com

Photo above "road tripping in Ruapehu" credit Visit Ruapehu. 

All hands on deck

One of the key jobs while the SH1 Desert Road is closed is to replace the deck on the Mangatoetoenui Bridge, which is about 23km south of Rangipō. 

The bridge, built in 1966, has a timber deck which is now in a poor condition and needs to be replaced. This job would require the road to be closed for about a month, so we’re taking the opportunity to get this done alongside the accelerated maintenance works. 

A new deck for the Mangatoetoenui Bridge has been designed and is being built in Napier, ready to be shipped in once the closure begins on Monday 13 January. It consists of steel girders and a concrete slab, which will be transported in 2 sections and then 'stitched' together once on site. 

Once the new deck is in place, the Mangatoetoenui Bridge is expected to last another 50 years before it needs replacing.

Mangatoetoenui bridge

Tokoroa to Ātiamuri

We hope you are all enjoying the new parts of the road between Tokoroa and upper Ātiamuri. 

We will be back to put on the final surface possible in the middle of February next year – actual dates to be confirmed closer to the time. 

Did you see the great video of the sealing work that went on south of Tokoroa while SH1 was closed?

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

And the final word on road tripping over the holidays comes from one of our stakeholder advisory group, Emerina.  "Take lots of drinking water, extra food, travel pillows and throw in a change of clothing. Stop and have a swim if by water, stop have bush walk or take any opportunity to make memories rather then just sitting in a hot car."