The road link from Hawke's Bay to Taihape will be closed to daytime traffic on weekdays for three months to strengthen a bridge.
The Kuripapango Bridge, 57km from Hastings on the Napier-Taihape Rd, is set to close from Monday March 1, Hastings District Council announced on Wednesday.
It is expected to be closed during the day until May 31 as work is undertaken to get it to comply with the Government's 2016 rules that local roads and bridges need to accommodate greater vehicle weights and dimensions than previously.
During the three months of work the bridge will be closed from 9am to 6pm on Mondays and Fridays, and from 7am to 6pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
It will be open to vehicles weighing under 22 tonnes such as cars, utes, trailers or empty trucks during the weekends and at night.
The bridge is currently able to take a weight of 44 tonnes and, after strengthening, the single lane, concrete and steel bridge will be able to carry 62 tonnes.
It will also be wider, for vehicles to better manoeuvre the tight approaches to and from the bridge.
Hastings District Council deputy mayor and ward councillor Tania Kerr acknowledged it was a long time for the road to be closed, but said to do anything other than full closure would further extend the duration of the works, making it inconvenient for longer.
"We want to thank those people who use it most for their patience while this necessary work is being carried out to improve efficiency and productivity.
"In addition, this road can be an alternative to State Highway 5 so this project will help ensure Hastings is not cut off should SH5 be closed for any reason."
In the event of an emergency such as a fire where people needed to evacuate, workers would clear the bridge within 30 minutes, allowing cars to pass over it.
Kuripapango Bridge is the final bridge to make the Hastings-Taihape route compliant with the legislation.