SH1 Waikato Expressway overnight closures at Hampton Downs

Waka Kotahi advises motorists that essential work is scheduled to take place on State Highway 1 (SH1) at Hampton Downs on Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 October, between 8pm and 5am.

The first stage of works to make the Waikato Expressway safer at Hampton Downs is nearly complete, with the two overnight closures and detours required to remove the temporary steel barriers along the 1.5km northbound and southbound shoulders.

The closure will only affect one direction of traffic at a time, southbound lane first, followed by the northbound lanes.

Southbound lane closure and local road detour – Tuesday 18 October

On Tuesday 18 October, between 8pm and 5am, southbound traffic will be detoured from the Hampton Downs interchange via Whangamarino Road and Rodda Road to Te Kauwhata interchange.

Northbound lane closure and local road detour – Wednesday 19 October

On Wednesday 19 October, between 8pm and 5am, northbound traffic will be detoured from the Te Kauwhata interchange via Rodda Road and Whangamarino Road to Hampton Downs interchange.

Detour route for heavy vehicles:

• Overweight vehicles – can travel the detour if they hold a permit issued by Waikato District Council.
• 50MAX – there are no 50MAX bridge restrictions.
  Refer to map of 50MAX routes
• HPMV – can travel the detour if they hold a Waka Kotahi issued HPMV permit.

People are asked to take extra care when travelling along the detour route by following any temporary speed limits, signs and instructions from the traffic management team.

A contingency night of Thursday 20 October, between 8pm and 5am, may be required to complete any temporary barrier removal.

During this closure our crews will also be installing a short section of temporary barrier on the northbound shoulder under the Hampton Downs overbridge to protect our crew as they install a permanent safety barrier. This will take two weeks to complete, and during this time only one northbound lane will be available.  A temporary speed limit of 70km/h northbound and 80km/h southbound will be in place.

Upcoming works at Hampton Downs Interchange October to December 2022

In a few weeks work will begin to install safety barriers along the on and off ramps at the Hampton Downs Interchange, as well as remove the temporary barrier that will be installed on the northbound shoulder under the overbridge. As space is limited on the ramps, when crews are working the ramps will need to be closed overnight to traffic. A full schedule of closures is still being finalised and we will share this once it has been confirmed.

Indicative schedule of ramps closures are:

• Late October to late November: Northbound on and off ramps will be closed nightly (Sunday to Thursday) as crew install permanent safety barriers.
• Early November: Overnight closure to remove the northbound temporary barrier alongside the Hampton Downs bridge abutment.
• Late November to mid-December 2022: Southbound on-and-off-ramps will be closed nightly (Sunday to Thursday) as crew install permanent safety barriers.

For up-to-date information on road works, traffic, detours and delays, drivers are encouraged to visit the Waka Kotahi Journey Planner website(external link)

Waka Kotahi thanks you for your patience while we complete this essential work to make our state highways safer and more resilient.