Large, oversized wind turbine components will begin moving overnight along Northland’s state highways in the coming months as part of construction of the Kaiwaikawe Wind Farm.
The NZ Transport Agency says the loads — which include tower sections, blades and other major components — will be transported in convoys from Northport to the wind farm site between Sunday and Thursday nights to reduce the impact on daytime traffic.
The convoys will travel from Northport along State Highway 15, then State Highway 1 through Whangārei, before heading west on State Highway 14 to Dargaville and north on State Highway 12 to the Kaiwaikawe site.
To avoid morning peak congestion, trucks will return to Northport along the same route after 9.30am.
The agency says the movements require specialised transport vehicles, pilot vehicles and coordinated traffic management due to the size and weight of the loads.
There has been extensive planning behind the scenes between Mercury NZ, NZTA’s maintenance and operations teams, bridge engineers, NZ Police Commercial Vehicle Safety and specialist heavy haulage pilot crews to ensure the convoys run as smoothly and safely as possible.
Road users travelling at night may experience intermittent delays as the convoys move through. Oversized loads may travel slowly, use more road space than usual or need to manoeuvre through intersections at reduced speed.
Pilot vehicles and traffic management crews will be in place along the route.
NZTA is advising motorists travelling at night to allow extra time, watch for pilot vehicles and “oversize” signage, slow down and follow instructions from traffic management staff. Drivers may be required to stop temporarily while particularly large loads pass.
The Kaiwaikawe Wind Farm, located 12 km northwest of Dargaville, is a $287 million renewable energy project being developed by Mercury NZ.
Featuring 12 of the country’s tallest turbines (206m tip height), it is expected to generate 221 GWh annually, with full operation planned by the end of 2026.
