Tarata Road Resilience Project

Kia ora koutou,

Happy New Year! We hope that you have all had a great break and enjoyed the reduced Traffic Management on the road over the past few weeks.

As you’re aware, construction is ramping up and you can hear more about upcoming works, in particular the Tarata Saddle closures at our drop-in session next week:

🗓️ Tuesday, 20 January
🕦 Between 11.30am and 1.30pm
🏫 Tarata Road Community Hall

We look forward to seeing you there.

Liz and the Tarata Road Resilience Project Team.

Blessing to mark start of vegetation clearance in the Tarata Conservation Area (Ngāti Maru land).

Project Updates

Toro Road

The first section from Toro Road is scheduled to be sealed and completed by the end of next week.

Tarata Saddle

Vegetation clearance began this week. Because this area is home to native lizards and a flight path for bats, we’re taking extra care to protect local wildlife during this work.
A two-night full road closure will be in place next week, and at this stage it looks like being:

Thursday 22 January and Friday 23 January
8pm - 6am

Then the road will be closed 24/7 between 26 January to 5 February for earthworks. Traffic will need to go via Otaraoa Road. If there are any changes to this, we will notify you through the community Facebook page and this newsletter.

🚌 School Transport

We have arranged for the school bus to have access to the Todd Energy private road.

This is great news but may mean drop off and pick up times may need to be adjusted. We'll let you know the confirmed details at the community meeting next week. It will also be communicated via the community Facebook page and this newsletter.

Pukeho Road to Toro Road

Work on the third site will begin once the Toro Road section is complete.

A Stop/Go system will be in place once this work starts, supported by a pilot vehicle to guide traffic safely through the site
Expect some delays—please allow extra travel time. The contractor, Fulton Hogan will monitor and adjust to minimise wait times.

Otaraoa Tunnel Safety

We've heard community concerns about safety of the Otaraoa Tunnel and are installing a permanent preferential give way on the Waitara approach to the tunnel. This will further support the increased number of movements through this narrow area.

More information?

Any questions or concerns about these projects please email Liz Beck or phone 06-759 6060.