State Highway 2 traffic: Delays as one-hour traffic holds overnight for Te Karaka Stream bridge works

A section of State Highway 2 near Tauranga will have one-hour traffic holds in place overnight early next week, and significant delays are expected.

Road rehabilitation night works at Whakamārama would start at Te Karaka Stream bridge on Sunday through to March 10, and people could expect significant delays, NZ Transport Agency said in a statement.

The work would be carried out at night between 8pm and 5am to minimise disruption to road users; however, delays would occur, the agency said.

The work involves milling out and resurfacing the road, including new road markings.

Te Karaka Stream bridge.

From March 3 to March 5 stop/stop will be needed between Barrett Rd and Te Karaka Drive.

During this time there will be a one-hour traffic hold with a 10-minute traffic release to allow 60m sections to be milled and resurfaced.

On March 6 to 7 and March 10, traffic control will revert to stop/go.

There will be no works on March 8 and March 9.

Temporary speed limits will be in place during the day due to the worksite having a different level to the normal road, with ramps transitioning traffic between the sites, where required.

The announcement comes after angry motorists last month lashed out at lengthy traffic delays on the state highway, one commuter describing the situation as an “absolute joke”.