Rockfall night works about to begin State Highway 1, Johnsonville

Drivers heading southbound towards Wellington will have night-time detours through the Johnsonville CBD when state highway safety works begin this weekend – Sunday, 13 August.

Drivers heading southbound towards Wellington will have night-time detours through the Johnsonville CBD when state highway safety works begin this weekend – Sunday, 13 August.

Contractors will be carrying out rock clearing works and extending concrete safety barriers on along the left side of State Highway 1 at the top of the Ngauranga Gorge. The aim is to reduce the risk of rocks falling from the hillside onto the road.

The southbound lanes heading to Wellington will be closed while these nightworks are underway, meaning traffic will have to detour through Johnsonville.

Works Schedule and Detour Advice:

• Sunday, 13 August to Monday, 28 August.
• Sunday to Thursday nights, 9 pm to 4.30 am.
• All southbound lanes will be closed. Traffic must detour via the Johnsonville southbound offramp through the central business district, returning to the state highway in the Gorge at the Johnsonville southbound onramp.
• As an alternative route, road users should consider diverting from State Highway 1, Transmission Gully, on to State Highway, 58 Haywards Hill Road, to State Highway 2, Western Hutt Road, to State Highway 2, especially if heading to Petone or Seaview.
• Truck and heavy vehicle drivers are reminded the height clearances for the Johnsonville State Highway underpasses on the southbound offramp, and onramp are 4.3m and 4.8m respectively.

Detour Route:

Waka Kotahi appreciates these works create travel delays for road users. However, they have been deliberately timed to be done at night when traffic volumes are lower to minimise disruption.

The work is essential to reducing the danger from potential rockfalls onto the State Highway. These are dangerous to drivers and work like this must be carried out regularly to help keep the public safe.

Road users should allow extra travel time when driving through the works areas and follow all instructions from contractors - safety of road crews and road users is a priority.