One of the largest and most ambitious maintenance and rehabilitation projects to be undertaken in New Zealand is about to begin in the Waikato.

In an accelerated road renewal programme, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) will undertake renewal work over approximately 23 percent of SH1 between Piarere and the Waiouru. 

“This section of SH1 is ranked third worst in terms of quality on the network. We’re prioritising improving that by bringing forward the next four years of maintenance and delivering it by the end of 2025,” says Roger Brady, NZTA Regional Manager of Maintenance and Operations. 

“Up to 2,400 heavy vehicles and 9,500 light vehicles use this corridor per day. With an increasing number of potholes, this stretch of road has also seen more maintenance activity required just to maintain the current condition.

“A new accelerated approach has been designed for a renewal programme on this corridor, which will deliver a series of full block closures along the corridor across 16 months while NZTA rehabilitates and repairs the road.

“This accelerated approach will reduce temporary traffic management and labour costs by delivering the work in less than half the time originally planned, and result in fewer potholes on the network over the next 25 years. Worker safety will also be improved by working in full closures, rather than adjacent to live traffic lanes.

“NZTA will be working with road users, freight companies, and local councils over the next month in preparation for the first section of works beginning in early September.

“Our state highways are critical routes for freight and tourism, and serve as important lifelines for communities around New Zealand. NZTA is strongly focused on maintenance and renewals, reducing potholes, and planning this work to minimise the disruption to road users where possible,” Mr Brady says.

Renewal work has been designed to ensure that water does not penetrate into the layers. This will be achieved by using a combination of different types of asphalt and upgrading the drainage to optimise road pavement life.

The first part of the project will see SH1, from SH5 near Tīrau to the SH1/SH28 intersection near Putāruru, closed from Monday, 9 September 2024 for four weeks. More information, including detour routes, will be shared ahead of time.