A stretch of State Highway 2 will be closed for 3 nights next month just south of Wairoa.

The road, between Ohinepaaka Stream and Waihua River Bridges, will close Monday 16, Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 December, between 8pm and 5am each night.

Crews will be finished onsite and the road fully reopened at 5am on Thursday.

There is no viable detour. Emergency service vehicles will be assisted through the closure.

During the closure, crews will resurface the abutment (approach) connecting Ohinepaaka Stream Bridge and the road. This follows recent work to rebuild the road surface.

At the same time, crews will be carrying out work to the deck of the Waihua River Bridge.

The bridge is structurally sound and next month’s work will focus on making repairs to the deck of the bridge.

Once the bridge work is complete, the temporary speed limit of 30 km/h is likely to be lifted.

The 3 night closure is needed because the area is narrow and the asphalt machinery is too large to allow for a single lane of traffic.