Update 29 September: The next stage of road rebuilding work on State Highway 1 between Ōtaki and Levin is set to begin tonight.
Over the weekend, work crews have completed similar state highway maintenance near Kuku.
This took longer to finish than originally planned because of recent bad weather. Road rebuilds and resurfacing require dry weather to be effective and durable.
From tonight (Monday, 29 September), and continuing until Sunday, 5 October, weather permitting, contractors will be on site south of Muhunoa West Road and Muhunoa East Road completing more road rebuild work on the highway.
Stop/go traffic management will be in place between 8 pm and 4:30 am. There will be no access to Bishops Road from the highway while the stop/go is operating.
9 September:
It will now start a week later from Tuesday 23 September. Not Monday 15 September as was previously indicated.
The next road rebuild work for Ōhau is about to get underway on State Highway 1.
It follows similar work currently being completed on State Highway 1, near Kuku.
Media release 15 August 2025 - Drainage works and road rebuild planned for State Highway 1 at Kuku
Road crews will be on site at Ōhau, near Muhunoa West/East Roads for up to two weeks of night works, starting Monday, 15 September.
The state highway rebuild will be underway Sunday to Thursday nights from 8 pm to 4.30 am. No work will be done between Friday morning and Sunday evening.
Roxanne Hilliard, Wellington Transport Alliance Manager, says the section of the state highway has reached the end of its life.
“It is at a stage where standard repairs are no longer suitable or effective long-term.”
“What we are going to do is complete a full road rebuild. This requires a full excavation of the road and then reconstructing it from the ground up. The end result is a much more durable pavement, one that will need less maintenance in the future,” Ms Hilliard says.
She says that rebuilds are more disruptive than standard road maintenance and resurfacing because of the excavation and construction involved.
“Stop/Go traffic management will be in place at night, and temporary speed limits will be active during the day.”
“This does mean drivers can expect travel delays while the project is underway, particularly between Muhunoa West Road and Victoria Terrace. We appreciate this may cause some frustration, but a road rebuild like this cannot be done without affecting the community.”
Ms Hilliard asks that people be patient and respect the traffic management in place.
“Heavy machinery will be operating, and it is important everyone, workers and the public, are kept safe.”
“There will be some short-term pain from these works, but they will be more than offset by the long-term gain of having a much-improved road surface.”
The rebuild will affect access to State Highway 1 from Bishops Road. For safety reasons, it will be closed to traffic at night. Bishops Road residents will have to access State Highway 1 via Muhunoa East Road instead.
Monday, 15 September to Friday, 26 September. Sunday to Thursday nights, 8 pm to 4:30 am (weather permitting)
