SH1 between Ātiamuri and Taupō to close for important road rebuilding

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

As part of the summer state highway road renewals programme, road rebuilding on State Highway 1 near Ōruanui (south of Ātiamuri) will commence on Monday 13 November, taking approximately 2 weeks to complete.

This rebuild is part of a significant programme of work that we need to complete this summer along SH1 between Putāruru and Taupō, explains Liam Ryan, Waikato Journey Manager at Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, and comes with some complexity.

“This section of road is narrow and with the size of the machinery required to do the work there is simply no room for both machinery and road users at the same time. Therefore, to ensure the safety of both road workers and road users, there will be day time road closures in place on five separate days across the 12 day construction period.

On these days, SH1 will be closed between Tirohanga Road and Ōruanui Road, between 7am and 6pm. Access will be maintained for residents living within the closure.

”It’s a busy time on SH1, with several other rebuilds taking place over coming months, along with  several sets of safety improvements taking place near Ātiamuri and Wairakei respectively.

“Each site will have temporary traffic management such as stop/go and reduced speed limits will be in place. Road users can expect delays as a result.  For people who are making a longer journey along SH1, you may wish to consider using SH41 and SH32 around the western side of Lake Taupō as a way to avoid the delays at the worksites.”

“We acknowledge that these works are disruptive, which is why we have identified days where we are working in locations where we can undertake work using stop/go traffic management. We are trying to balance disruption to road users with efficiency and safety to complete our work. We ask that road users respect any instructions from road crews when travelling on the state highway network, and feel free to give them a smile when you get a chance.”

“When we have the road closure in place, we will be undertaking other maintenance work such as signage cleaning, drainage clearing, pothole repairs to reduce disruption.”

Access for emergency services will be maintained at all times, through all work sites.

Detours:

Light vehicles (including Buses) – will be detoured from SH1 via Tirohanga Road, Forest Road, Ōruanui Road, back to SH1 and vice versa. Vehicles travelling south from Tokoroa to a destination around Turangi or further south are encouraged to take SH32 as an alternate detour. 

Heavy Vehicles– Southbound traffic on SH1 will be detoured LEFT onto SH30 at Ātiamuri, then RIGHT onto SH5, then back onto SH1 where the detour will end, and vice versa.  Expect delays on SH5 near Wairakei due to similar road rebuilding taking place.

Waka Kotahi advises all motorists to plan ahead, delay travel where possible or avoid the area.

Should there be a significant period of poor weather the closures may be postponed.

Road users are advised to check the Waka Kotahi Journey Planner (www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz(external link)) on the day of travel to confirm the status of the state highway network before setting out for their destination.

Outside of the times listed above, the road will typically operate under stop/go traffic management with a reduced speed limit in place.

View large map [PDF, 25 MB]

MIL OSI