Category: Transport

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi is advising road users on State Highway 4 next week to prepare for resealing work.

Stop/go traffic management will be in place on SH4 between Raetihi to Upokongaro each day from Monday 9 December to Friday 13 December. Crews will be onsite from 8am til 6pm.

Between Monday and Wednesday, road users can expect delays of up to an hour due to the need to hold traffic while sealing works are underway on narrower sections of road. On Thursday and Friday, that delay is expected to be 5 to 10 minutes.

NZTA strongly urges all road users to plan ahead, avoid travel during this time if possible and expect the delays.

A 30 km/h speed limit will also be in place.

NZTA acknowledges these delays are significant and apologises to all road users on SH4 for the frustration, as we work to boost the resilience of this road.

We thank you for your patience and understanding during these works.

Road maintenance – Manawatū-Whanganui region 

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

Night-time travellers will again be on detours around the Waikato Expressway works at Ngāruawāhia over the next fortnight as the big push continues to get the highway open this month.

This section of State Highway 1 (SH1) has been fully closed during the past 2 weeks, opening at weekends, while NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi contractors complete remedial and safety improvements.

Night works are now required to complete asphalt work, final surfacing, barrier installation and line-marking, with all traffic off the road.

The SH1 Ngāruawāhia section will be closed overnight on these dates:

• From 7pm Sunday 8 December until 5am Friday 13 December

• From 7pm Sunday 15 December until 5am Friday 20 December.

Depending on weather and progress the night closures may finish earlier in that second week.

Meanwhile, outside these closures all traffic remains on the northbound lanes with 3 detours in place until completion.

• The southbound onramp at the Taupiri/Gordonton Road interchange is closed until works finish.
• The southbound offramp to SH1C is closed until works finish.
• Northbound SH1C traffic is required to exit at Lake Road, head south on SH1 to turn around at Resolution Interchange and proceed north.

All lanes will open after final inspections are completed in the lead-up to Christmas.

View larger map [JPG, 438 KB]

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

Starting this Sunday 8 December, asphalt resurfacing will be getting underway on State Highway 29 near the Tauranga end of Old Kaimai Road.

This work will be completed overnight between 8pm and 6am, starting Sunday 8 December through to the morning of Wednesday 18 December, although there won’t be any work overnight Friday 13 or Saturday 14 December.  

The resurfacing works involve removing the existing road surface and replacing it with a new layer of asphalt.  

While this work is underway, temporary traffic management, including lane closures and stop/go will be in place, as well as a reduced speed limit of 50km/h during the day to ensure the safety of the community and our team.  

This work is weather dependent, and these timeframes are approximate and subject to change. 

This work follows the completion of the SH29 Hanga Lane site near the summit of the Kaimai Range and the SH29 Gargan Road site near Tauriko.  

SH29 is a key focus as part of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi summer maintenance programme.  

Between October 2024 and May 2025 there are 9 significant sites on the Bay of Plenty side of the Kaimai Range where we will be rebuilding and resurfacing the road.   

Once complete, drivers will have smoother and safer journeys along this section of the SH29 corridor.  

This work forms part of the government’s $2.07 billion investment into road and drainage renewal and maintenance across 2024-27 via the State Highway Pothole Prevention fund.  

Previous SH29 media release (18 October 2024): Summer maintenance on State Highway 29 to deliver smoother journeys

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

With our summer maintenance programme in full swing, road users will have noticed multiple chip sealing sites on local state highways across the top of the South Island.

The work is essential for ensuring the region’s highways are kept safe and resilient for drivers.

Mark Owen, Regional Manager Wellington/Top of the South says summer, when the weather is warmer, is the perfect time of year to get this sort of road resurfacing work done.

“We commonly hear drivers asking why there are more road works at this time of the year. The simple answer is permanent repairs need warm and dry weather to be effective and can’t be done during the wet and cold winter months. This is why drivers always see a lot of resurfacing work done over summer.”

“Many sites have already been completed, and our contractors are making the most of the hot, dry weather to get as much work done over the next couple of weeks before Christmas,” Mr Owen says.

Work locations between now and Christmas	Timing
SH60 Tākaka Between Paynes Ford Reserve and Motupipi Street, Tākaka	Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 December, 7 am to 7 pm
SH60 Tākaka township Between Long Plain Road and Māori Road, Tākaka	Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 December, 6 pm to 11 pm
SH60 Tākaka Airport Between Tākaka Airport and Little Onahau River	Friday 6 December, 7 am to 7 pm
SH6 between Northbank Road and Okaramio Marlborough Two separate sites	Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 December, 7 am to 7 pm
SH6 between Okaramio and Havelock Two separate sites	Tuesday 10 to Wednesday 11 December 7 am to 7 pm
SH6 Canvastown Four separate sites	Wednesday 11 and Friday 13 December 7 am to 7 pm

The chip seal sites will be spread throughout the region. For Nelson/Tasman, this includes locations on State Highway 60 near Tākaka. In the New Year, contractors will be working across the Nelson/Tasman region on multiple sites, including:

• State Highway 6 around Glenhope
• State Highway 6 between Hope Saddle and State Highway 63 Kawatiri Junction
• State Highway 6 around Murchison township
• State Highway 6 Whangamoa Hill
• State Highway 65 Shenandoah Highway
• State Highway 63 at sites on either side of the St Arnaud township
• Various sites on each side of State Highway 63 and the St Arnaud-Kawatiri intersection.

In Marlborough, crews will be out on State Highway 6 between now and Christmas. Crews will return to various sites in the New Year, including:

• State Highway 1 Spring Creek
• State Highway 1 Tuamarina
• State Highway 1 Redwood Pass
• State Highway 1 in the Seddon township
• State Highway 6 Woodbourne
• State Highway 62 Rapaura Road
• Four sites on State Highway 63. 

Road users travelling to the West Coast and further south over summer can also expect to come upon chip seal operations during their journeys.

Mr Owen says the work is essential for keeping the roads in tip-top shape.

Stop/go controls will be in place while chip seal work is underway. Temporary speed limits will apply day and night and remain in place until the new surface beds in. Crews will then sweep the new surface before re-applying road markings.

Mr Owen says 30 km/h limits are in place for good reason.

“If people drive too fast, they damage the road surface, meaning the work has to be redone – creating even more travel delays. Stone chips can also flick up and damage other vehicles.”

“Sticking to the posted speed limit also helps to keep everyone, including our road workers, safe.”

Mr Owen appreciates that road works cause delays and frustration for drivers.

“We try to minimise the impact of road works as much as possible. But, like the saying you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs. Road works inevitably affect traffic.”

“Please remember this is an important investment in infrastructure and helps keep our highways safe. All road users benefit from this work,” Mr Owen says.

Summer maintenance season – Tips and advice

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) has kicked off its Northland Corridor Summer Roadshow series, with more than 250 people dropping in to chat to the project team, find out the latest progress on the project and share their local insights at the first two events.

Representatives from the project team attended the Mangawhai Community Market on Saturday 23 November and the Kaiwaka Community Markets on Saturday 30 November, and NZTA Programme Director, Derek Robertson, says the team really enjoyed connecting with people and hearing about what was important to them.

“It was fantastic to hear how much people love travelling on Ara Tūhono – Pūhoi to Warkworth. We also heard people are keen to see the Northland Corridor Roads of National Significance project underway as fast as possible. Resilience, safety and travel times were also hot topics.

“This coming weekend the team will be at the Whangārei A&P Show on Saturday 7 December from 9am–4:30pm and we’re looking forward to connecting with more people keen to hear about the project.”

There are five more roadshow locations planned, including this weekend at the Whangārei A&P Show:

• Saturday 7 December 2024, 9am–4:30pm: Whangārei A&P Show
• Saturday 14 December 2024, 9am–2pm: Matakana Original Market
• Saturday 11 January 2025, 8:30am–1pm: Mangawhai Tavern Market
• Sunday 26 January 2025, 9am–2pm: Waipū Street Market
• Saturday 1 February 2025, 9am–4pm: Paparoa A&P Show

“We’ve chosen existing markets and community events to reach as many people as we can by going to the places where local people are, at key locations during busy, summer periods.

“We know summer is a busy time, so if these dates and times don’t work for you and you’d like to talk to us, you can email northlandproject@nzta.govt.nz. We’ll also be looking at holding more information sessions in locations such as Wellsford and Warkworth in future, as the design progresses, and undertaking more targeted engagement in these areas in the new year,” Mr Robertson says.

People can also find out more and keep up to date with work on the Northland Corridor by visiting the project page and signing up to the email newsletter on the Northland Corridor project page:

Northland Corridor project

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) has signed an initial $5 million establishment contract with Acusensus NZ Limited, to become New Zealand’s new mobile safety camera operator.

NZTA Head of Regulatory Strategic Programmes Tara Macmillan says Acusensus has been involved in mobile safety camera enforcement in Australia for several years and is a highly trusted provider of these services.  

“Acusensus has committed to establishing themselves in New Zealand, and they are in the process of recruiting staff and setting up depots across the country,” Ms Macmillan says. 

NZTA expects to follow the initial six-month establishment contract with a further contract that will run until December 2029, valued at up to $20 million annually. This contract will be for speed-detection only, and based on the number of hours mobile safety cameras are operating. Neither Acusensus or NZTA will receive any incentives or funds from tickets issued. Money from safety camera fines goes into the Government Consolidated Fund. 

Acusenus will only be responsible for providing images to NZTA – they will not decide whether an offence has occurred.  

“NZTA is the enforcement agency for safety camera offences, and we will process all images from the cameras, confirm where a vehicle has been speeding and issue all notices. NZTA will also decide where and when cameras will be located,” Ms Macmillan says.

“Outsourcing the operation of safety cameras gives us access to the latest technology and processes and systems that are proven. It also means that for the first time, we’ll have unmanned mobile safety cameras in trailers alongside the vehicles New Zealanders are used to. This provides significant flexibility for operations – being able to chose the best camera type for the location, saving money and increasing safety for operators. 

Like now, our mobile safety cameras will operate nationwide, anytime and anywhere. Research shows a mix of signed and unsigned safety cameras of various types generates greater road safety benefits than either one alone. That’s why we’re putting up signs at our permanent safety camera sites and keeping mobile cameras unsigned. Unsigned mobile safety cameras are twice as effective at reducing crashes than sign posted mobile cameras.”

International research has shown covert mobile safety cameras can reduce the number of people who are killed or seriously injured on all roads by around 15%. 

Until recently, NZ Police has been solely responsible for fixed and mobile safety cameras, and officer speed detection. With NZTA partnering with NZ Police on speed enforcement we have a combined effort on keeping everyone safe. We expect to start our mobile safety camera operations in the first half of 2025, and NZTA will be responsible for all safety cameras from July 2025. 

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

As part of the State Highway 29 Tauriko Enabling Works project, work is underway on Cambridge Road in preparation for a new signalised intersection with SH29.

To make way for works on this section, a power pole between 561 and 587 Cambridge Road needs to be relocated by approximately 3 metres. While this work is underway there will be traffic management and power outages.

Road users and the local community should prepare for:

• moderate traffic delays on Wednesday 11 December, between 9am to 4pm. There will be stop/go, a 30km/h temporary speed limit, and lane and shoulder closures in place on Cambridge Road (between 561 and 587).
• power outages are planned for the duration of this work. Impacted property owners will be notified by their power providers.

These works have been planned during off-peak traffic hours and can only be done safely during daylight hours.

People travelling on Cambridge Road are asked to drive with extra care through the area and allow extra time for their journeys. Temporary traffic management ensures the safety of all road users, the community, and our teams.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) thanks drivers, local residents and businesses for their patience. 

The SH29 Tauriko Enabling Works are being delivered by NZTA together with Tauranga City Council. Downer is delivering the construction of the project. This work is an important step towards a more efficient and safer intersection of SH29 and Cambridge Road.

Tauriko Enabling Works project page

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency