Pūhoi to Warkworth highway heading north of Auckland won’t be open for long weekend

The “holiday highway” Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway heading north from Auckland will not be open for King’s Birthday weekend.

And motorists can expect long delays and congestion when travelling northbound on State Highway 1.

The Johnstones Hill Tunnels could be a congestion hotspot, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said.

“Motorists are advised to expect long delays and to allow additional time for their journeys or consider an alternate route such as SH16 for travel north.”

Waka Kotahi said because of road layout changes northbound travellers would exit at the Pūhoi off-ramp before being directed along a short section of Pūhoi Rd and back onto SH1.

“A temporary speed limit of 30km/h and traffic management is in place throughout the work site.”

The agency said the road layout changes were the final in a staged sequence of work to connect SH1 to the new Ara Tūhono - Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway north of the Johnstones Hill tunnels and would remain in place until the motorway opens next month.

Motorists were asked to take extra care when travelling through the site and to adhere to the temporary speed restrictions for their own safety, and that of Waka Kotahi’s stop/go crew, road workers and other road users.

“Crews will be working hard to minimise delays where possible.”

After two Covid-affected delays - it was due to open in the summer of 2021/22 and then at Queen’s Birthday Weekend last year - the 18.5km motorway is due to open in the coming months, chopping 11 minutes off the drive north.

“The experience driving through will be awesome, it is such a beautiful country and the road is striking,” Waka Kotahi national manager of commercial delivery Andrew Robertson has said.

The motorway is expected to be a boon for the town of Warkworth, which is forecast to grow from a population of 6600 to more than 25,000 over the next 25 years. The town is already growing faster than the Auckland average and had 456 new homes consented in the past five years.

For up-to-date information on road works, traffic, detours and delays, visit the Waka Kotahi Journey Planner website.