Festive road works: New seal to slow Auckland Harbour Bridge traffic

Maintenance work on the Auckland Harbour Bridge over the festive period will see two southbound lanes closed. Photo / File

Maintenance work on the Auckland Harbour Bridge during the festive period will see two lanes closed.

The NZ Transport Agency says the two southbound clip-on lanes will close on Boxing Day for up to 10 days.

The Shelly Beach Rd off-ramp will also close and access to Shelly Beach Rd from Westhaven Dr will operate on a stop-go system.

It is just a myriad of road closures, planned and unplanned around the country, as holidaymakers set off to catch up with friends and family on one of the busiest times of the year.

NZTA has issued warnings for its busiest roads, especially those heading north of Auckland as well as to the Coromandel.

Passing lanes on State Highway 2 at Maramarua have today been shut down, with road cones blocking access to motorists, to try prevent crashes.

Longer queues should be expected but NZTA says there should be minimal impact to motorists overall.

AKL HARBOUR BRIDGE MAINTENANCE, 26DEC-04JAN
Plan ahead: Two southbound lanes on the Harbour Bridge will be closed for resurfacing from 26 Dec to 04 Jan. Three lanes in each direction will remain open at all times. Some traffic delays are likely. More: https://t.co/Eq8OYegiIQ ^TP pic.twitter.com/eTs5oRmrxh

— Waka Kotahi NZTA Auckland & Northland (@WakaKotahiAkNth) December 21, 2019

SH2 is the main highway connection between Auckland, the Coromandel and Tauranga.

Meanwhile, on the harbour bridge, NZTA's Auckland system manager Andrea Williamson said the two lanes will close in the early hours of Boxing Day.

The maintenance work would be dependent on the weather.

"The resurfacing process on the bridge requires three to five days to 'cure' before allowing traffic on it, so while it may look as [if] nothing is happening the team will be using the closure for other maintenance tasks," she said.

The harbour bridge was one of the busiest sections of motorway in Auckland with more than 170,000 vehicle movements a day.

The lanes were last resurfaced in 2017.

"We're expecting traffic to flow well in both directions and, weather permitting, the bridge will be fully opened before most people return from their Christmas break," she said.