Source: New Zealand Transport Agency
Contractors working on State Highway 58 completed project works ahead of schedule, allowing the highway to reopen earlier than planned.
The highway was closed between the Hutt Valley and Pāuatahanui from eight pm on Friday night to allow road crews to reconstruct a section of the road as part of the State Highway 58 Safety Improvements project.
Contractors laying asphalt. SH58 safety improvement project works.
Excavation work, SH58 safety improvement project works.
It had been due to reopen at four am Monday morning, but contractors had it open to traffic just after seven pm on Sunday night. Nine hours earlier than planned.
Regional Manager Lower North Island/Top of the South Mark Owen says hard work and the good weather all helped get to an early finish.
“Having the road fully closed allowed the contractors to crack on and complete the work much more quickly. The good weather also helped. Dry and calm conditions make it much easier for road crews to get the job done.”
Mr Owen appreciates locals want the project finished as soon as possible.
“Closing the highway for project works does have a major impact on the rest of the network – as this weekend has shown. We have to balance the desire to get projects finished quickly against network congestion and also the need for locals to have access to their homes and businesses.”
“There are limited opportunities to do full closures, but when we can do them, they do help us get work finished more quickly and efficiently and reduce the amount of future disruption for drivers. We will certainly look at what happened this weekend to better plan any future closures,” Mr Owen says.
Mr Owen is also thanking drivers and residents for their patience and cooperation over the weekend.
“We completely understand that no one likes being held up by road works or having their road access limited. But this project, when complete, will make State Highway 58 a much safer road for drivers and residents.”
Weekend closure facts and figures
Over the weekend, contractors achieved the following:
- 130m of road dug out and rebuilt
- 1,500 tonnes of material removed
- 1,500 tonnes of new asphalt laid
- Two service trenches built for telecommunications infrastructure
- One stormwater culvert line and one culvert driveway crossing
- Around 100m2 of road repairs
- Crash barrier repairs
- The removal of potentially dangerous trees near the Judgeford Golf Course
- Vegetation clearance and slip tidying work
More details about the State Highway 58 Safety Improvements project can be found on the Waka Kotahi website.
