Northland briefs: Busy road to close for works, winning lotto ticket sold in Whangārei

Be prepared for road closures due to road works. Photo / Supplied

Tarewa Rd upgrade

The upgrade of the Tarewa Rd intersection with State Highway 1 in Whangārei is stepping up a gear from next week. Next Monday, December 17, the right turn into Tarewa Rd from SH1 and the right turn out of Tarewa Rd on to SH1 will close to all vehicles. The right-turn closures will stay in place until the project is completed in early 2020 so the project team can work safely on the intersection upgrade.

Signposted detours will be in place for motorists to get from SH1 to the Whangārei city centre on Maunu Rd and to the Okara shopping centre via Rewa Rewa Rd. There will be no right-hand turn out of Tawera Rd on to SH1, but vehicles will be able to turn left.

Businesses along Tawera Rd will stay open. The $17 million Tarewa Rd upgrade is part of the Whangārei Urban Improvements package to improve the state highway through the city by easing bottlenecks and improving traffic flow, safety and cycling connections. At the same time, the Whangārei District Council is upgrading two intersections on nearby Porowini Ave - at Tawera Rd and Maunu Rd.

The works will start and finish during the period of the SH1/Tarewa Rd upgrade.

Ambulance break-in

A medical pack was tampered with during a break-in at the Whangārei St John Ambulance Station on Western Hills Drive. Senior Sergeant Steve Dickson said the break-in happened sometime overnight on Saturday night.

Whangārei Lotto win

Fourteen lucky Lotto players nationwide celebrated on Saturday after each won $16,371 with Lotto second division, including someone who bought a ticket in Whangārei. The local ticket was sold at Countdown. Meanwhile a lucky Auckland Lotto player would have been dancing around the Christmas tree after winning $1 million in the first-division draw. The winning ticket was sold at New World Green Bay.

Powerball was not struck and has rolled over to Wednesday night, where the jackpot will be $10m. Lotto first division will be $1m and Strike Four will be $200,000 on Wednesday night. The winning numbers were 02, 08, 12, 16, 18, 38 and bonus 33 with powerball 10.