As the ambitious Tīrau to Waiouru Accelerated Maintenance project (T2W) rounds the bend of its second and final season, State Highway 1 (SH1) Desert Road closures are about to begin.
The overnight-only closures, between Tūrangi and Waiouru, have been carefully programmed to enable swift progress during the last phase of road rebuilding in this location, while avoiding long-term disruption.
Closures here are needed to complete final surfacing in the area known as the 3 Sisters because the narrow, winding road can’t safely accommodate asphalting machinery and stop/go traffic management. Three consecutive southern sites spanning a total of 3.5km are affected: Mangamate, Oturere Hill and Mangatoetoenui.
All closures are scheduled to take place overnight between Sunday 15 February and Monday 9 March (weather dependent), Sunday to Thursday nights, 7pm to 6am. The contractor may add some additional Friday nights if the weather is bad, but these will be advised of in advance. Updates will be available on NZTA’s Journey Planner and Facebook pages, as well as electronic message boards in the area.
“Minimising disruption for road users, residents and businesses is always front of mind for NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA), so we don’t close roads unless it’s essential to ensure safety and to get the job done,” says Roger Brady, NZTA Regional Manager Maintenance and Operations in Waikato and Bay of Plenty.
“In this case, it’s short-term ‘pain’ for long-term gain, and we appreciate everyone’s patience while we improve this vital roading network.”
During the overnight closures, the recommended detour is via SH41, SH47, SH4, SH49 and back to SH1 in Waiouru, and vice versa. Those travelling on this alternative route will need to bear in mind that it adds approximately 35 minutes to journeys.
As well as this T2W rebuilding work being completed under closures, there’s a significant amount of general road maintenance happening at various sites on the Desert Road during the summer works season. This will require daytime stop/go traffic management. The schedule is being coordinated to reduce delays as much as possible.
Enabled by the Government’s $2.07 billion Pothole Prevention fund, T2W has condensed 4 seasons of work into 2, reducing future disruption on these sections of SH1.
“Having begun in September 2024, it’s now a matter of months before contractors working for NZTA will have completed the project’s entire 60km – 27 percent of SH1’s total 220km length.
“Weather and ground conditions generally being best during summer, the past few months have been a busy time for both road users and our crews. We’re working hard to ensure it’s not long now until this important project is completed and we can all get back to business as usual along SH1,” says Mr Brady.
