Road closures are set for Northland due to repairs and resurfacing on State Highway 1.
The NZ Transport Agency is advising motorists of night-time delays and detours as work is carried out on three Mata Bridges between Oakleigh and Ruakaka.
The work is in addition to the ongoing night road repairs at Oakleigh which started in early February.
NZTA system manager Steve Mutton says the repairs are taking longer than expected because of wet weather and won’t be finished until after Easter.
The Mata Bridges work is scheduled to start on Sunday, March 18 and take four nights.
The work will be done in three stages and is weather dependent.
Work stages:
*Stage one of the new work will start on the most northern of the three bridges on Sunday night, March 18.
There will be stop/go traffic management in place from 7pm to 9pm and a full road closure from 9pm to 5am.
The detour for northbound traffic is via Salmon Rd and Springfield Rd and back on to State Highway 1. Southbound traffic will travel the same route in reverse.
*Stage two works on the other two bridges will take place on Monday and Tuesday nights. Stop/go traffic management will be in place 7pm to 9pm and a full road closure from 9pm to 5am each night.
The detour for northbound traffic will start at State Highway 12 to Paparoa and follow Paparoa – Oakleigh Rd, Paparoa Rd and Mangapai Rd before rejoining SH1 north. Southbound traffic travel the same route in reverse.
The detour will add an additional twenty kilometres to journeys between Brynderwyn and Whangarei.
The detour is not suitable for high productivity motor vehicles (HPMVs) which will need to park and wait at the closure point.
Northbound traffic heading to Ruakaka and other destinations south of the closure point will be allowed to continue on State Highway 1.
*Stage three resurfacing work will take place on Wednesday night with stop/go traffic management from 7pm to 9pm and a full road closure from 9pm to 5am.
There are two options for motorists during the full road closure. Option one is to use the Stage 2 detour via SH12 above.
Option two is to continue on State Highway 1 and park and wait at the closure point instead of using the detour.
Delays of at least an hour and a half can be expected with traffic being let through the area between resurfacing works where possible.
