Final roadworks planned for Whangārei's Riverside Drive

The final section from Brooks Rd through to Kissing Point is planned to be sealed on Wednesday. Photo / Supplied

One final section is left to be sealed to complete the roadworks on Whangārei's Riverside Drive.

Whangārei District Council said before the last section can be sealed, the widening of the pavement at Kissing Point needs to be finished off.

Work on the widening is planned to start on Sunday.

Two lanes of traffic will still be able to flow while this work is carried out.

"We will then need to leave the pavement to dry out and complete testing on Monday and Tuesday to make sure it is ready for us to seal," the council said in a post on its Facebook page.

The plan is to seal the final section of road from Brooks Rd through to Kissing Point next Wednesday.

"The work will start after the morning rush hour peak (9am) and will be finished before the evening peak."

There will be a 30km/hr speed limit over this section of road following the sealing for two days before the road can be swept and remarked.

The work will bring to an end several weeks of roadworks on the arterial road, which caused frustration and delays for motorists at times.

The delays were caused by the reduced speed limit.

Earlier, the council apologised to the public for "dropping the ball" over failing to tell them about the planned works.

Major sealing works took place during the day last week, where the road was sealed in sections in an effort to minimise hold ups.

The council said it was unable to carry out the work at night as the temperature was too low overnight for a good seal.

Once finished, the roadworks will allow traffic heading into Whangarei from Mackesy and Awarua River Rds to merge seamlessly with Riverside Drive traffic.

It will also provide a much better road surface that should last until the council four-lanes the road in 2026.