Waiouru highway to reopen soon
The road has been closed since mid-January. Photo / Dan Hutchinson
The Tūrangi to Waiouru stretch of State Highway 1 will reopen on Friday.
The section of road has been closed since January 13, resulting in a detour of more than 50km.
Roger Brady, Regional Manager of Maintenance and Operations for NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) said a large amount of work had been achieved in a short space of time.
Contractors have rebuilt and repaired 28 lane kilometres of road – 12km more than they originally planned.
They have also completely rebuilt the deck of the Mangatoetoenui Bridge.
The work is part of the accelerated Tirau to Waiouru road maintenance programme, which is the largest road maintenance project ever undertaken in New Zealand.
“By doing the work under full road closures, more invasive construction methods can be used which would not be possible under stop/go traffic management. It means SH1 is being brought up to a higher standard quickly, and New Zealanders can get back on a quality road surface sooner.”
Contractors have been laying an average of 500 tonnes a day of asphalt over the last week.
The Desert Road will re-open to traffic from 1pm on Friday 14 March.
Some parts of the road will reopen under traffic management, including temporary speed limits, while the chipseal is embedded further by the vehicles using the road.
Brady said road users should be mindful of loose chip and drive to the signposted speed limit, leaving a good following distance from the car in front; ideally three car lengths or more is suggested.
There will be further works required to finish the final surface on the Desert Road later in the year. This work will, wherever possible, be done at night and the schedule for that work has yet to be decided.
Work is almost complete on the Waiouru to Tūrangi section of SH1. Photo / Supplied
While SH1 was closed the detour was via SH41, SH47, SH4, SH49 and back to SH1 in Waiouru. This added around 35-40 minutes to journeys but proved a welcome boon for many businesses along the detour route.